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A review by jujelly
In the Presence of Absence by Mahmoud Darwish
3.0
as beautiful as the prose sounds, it has no meaning to me. it doesn't hold any weight for me to want to continue reading, no storyline for the length of the pieces and chapters to really capture my intrigue.
it's so pretty, but it's a convoluted labyrinth of words that feels like it's an expression of his very thoughts; except his thoughts are his and the connections he pulls are his, and everything he associates with any word is his.
i'm like an outsider just genuinely looking in and trying to grasp any of the fleeting feelings he poured into these pages, but they're too long for me to enjoy them as poems and they're too vague for me to think 'i can't wait to read the next chapter'.
i understand it's a collection of prose, and i appreciate it as such, but i'm thoroughly feeling stranded. at this very moment; all it offers to me is nothing more than just eloquency. he has an incredible talent but it's not connecting with me.
but.
what i definitely can see is that he feels. every page bleeds with his emotions, and his longing and his suffering; his mind is continuously turning and not shutting off, and i can feel that.
maybe i'm just not cut out to appreciate this as deeply as i would like. that's why - as a very personal rating, not depicting the objective brilliance of this collection, but just for my personal enjoyment, it gets 2.5 - 3 stars.
it's so pretty, but it's a convoluted labyrinth of words that feels like it's an expression of his very thoughts; except his thoughts are his and the connections he pulls are his, and everything he associates with any word is his.
i'm like an outsider just genuinely looking in and trying to grasp any of the fleeting feelings he poured into these pages, but they're too long for me to enjoy them as poems and they're too vague for me to think 'i can't wait to read the next chapter'.
i understand it's a collection of prose, and i appreciate it as such, but i'm thoroughly feeling stranded. at this very moment; all it offers to me is nothing more than just eloquency. he has an incredible talent but it's not connecting with me.
but.
what i definitely can see is that he feels. every page bleeds with his emotions, and his longing and his suffering; his mind is continuously turning and not shutting off, and i can feel that.
maybe i'm just not cut out to appreciate this as deeply as i would like. that's why - as a very personal rating, not depicting the objective brilliance of this collection, but just for my personal enjoyment, it gets 2.5 - 3 stars.