Media:Paperback Edition:New edition Pages:80 Shipping Weight (lbs):0.3 Dimensions (in):7.6 x 5.1 x 0.4
ISBN:0330440039 EAN:9780330440035 ASIN:0330440039
Publication Date:September 1, 2006 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days Shipping:International shipping available Condition:UK SELLER_IN STOCK_Immediate Dispatch _ Protective packing_ Tel 01908 584 386 Cover may vary
A breath of fresh airAugust 21, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
i like this book a lot.
it's the first time for a long time that i've read a book of poems thru completely. the poems are quirky, thought-provoking, interesting, touching; as fresh and tingle-making as a winter sea. blew the cobwebs away.
Short but sweet(ish)October 10, 2006 12 out of 12 found this review helpful
I picked this book up in Singapore airport, and whilst its short, I found much of the prose poignant and thought provoking. I dont think its worth the gushing review on the cover, but I really enjoyed parts of it.
If anything, thats this books problem, its runs from being hit to miss from page to page. Even within poems, there can be two lines that would sweep me off my feet and take me away somewhere wonderful - and then there would be two lines that just didnt fit.
Take it with a pinch of salt and enjoy what is there, and its great. But a little hefty at 8!
Waste of my moneyJune 8, 2006 37 out of 41 found this review helpful
Granted, there were no customer reviews when I checked it out - only a short sentence by someone from the Daily Telegraph and the book's own synopsis - but, being someone who bought Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time when it was a fresh release in hardback and LOVED it, I expected...well, I'm not sure what I expected exactly. But not this.
Now, I'm an abstract kind of guy as it is, but this "poetry" hardly makes sense, and, when it does, is so unprofound it takes away any of the pleasure you'd normally get from working out riddles, clever word-plays, or whatever.
Based on the synopsis and Haddon's Whitbread prize winner, I expected a book full of creative and original beauty, something to be treasured and returned to over time. What I received was the kind of gibberish you'd expect from someone who's met Lucy in the sky with diamonds a bit too much lately.
To be fair, I'd correct the last paragraph and say that at least one of the poems were the kind you scribble in draft on the back of a paper napkin and don't return to.
I'm particularly annoyed because I also bought this book for a friend's birthday and now I'm sure I look like an idiot.
Don't buy this book. Good poetry - with it's inherent short lines and double spacing - is just about justifiable on an environmental basis. This isn't good poetry.
