Bayna Bayna --by Zeina Azzam

 Nonfiction / Poetry

The Poetry Box

2021, Chapbook

52 pages

5 stars

 

This impressive book takes us from her childhood in Palestine and war to adulthood in the US. She writes beautifully of loss—loss of friends, loss of home, loss of culture, loss of marriage. And yet these poems also give us hope, “may you wake up to goodness…” (Khayr, page 22.)

 

The title poem, Bayna Bayna, In-Between tells of living “…in the canyon / between a mother language / and an adopted tongue,” and that is the book. In between here and there. Between a marriage and a divorce, between one home and the second. Between one heart beat and the next.

 

Beautiful writing, highly recommend buying and reading this little book.

Slaughterhouse Five or The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death —by Kurt Vonnegut

 Fiction / Historical (WWII bombing of Dresden)

A Laurel Book Published by Dell Publishing

1969, Mass Paperback

84 pages

3 Stars

 

The story of Billy Pilgrim, a lad of simplicity finds himself caught up in the German front, becomes a POW, and to help him escape from the horrors of war, and the military, he time travels to another place, perhaps even another planet. He seems quite content to live in his imagination and let other people tell him what to do, when to do it, and how. 

 

I’m wondering if this book isn’t one of the first of the “anti-hero” books to come out? I have no

idea how I missed this book when it came out, but thankfully, I did. His stock phrase, which shows up on just about every page, “So it goes” kicked me out of the story every time I read it, then I had to fight to get back inside. Normally, I would not have finished it, but it’s the book we’re reading this month for Book Group. 

 

If you’re a glutton for punishment, you’ll love it. I’m not that masochistic. Unfortunately, I can’t say to read any of his other books. I haven’t, and don’t think I will as several people have stated to start with this book. 

Mother Country --poems by Elana Bell

 Nonfiction / poetry

BOA Editions, Ltd

2020, First Edition

Paperback, 84 pages

5 Stars

 

This is a perfect gift for mothers, and daughters of mothers. Elana Bell describes wanting and miscarrying children, and finally, carrying and birthing a beautiful child. She tells about her mother, and the web of life holding them together. How they interacted. These poems are by turns sad, funny, and every emotion in between. And the last poem, After Birth—how many mothers have sung that same song? I don’t think the words have changed all that much, either.

 

There are poems in this book worth reading over and over again. If you have lost an unborn child, you will find understanding in this book, these words. If you have birthed a healthy child, you will find sympathy in this book for she truly understands how your life has been turned upside down and pulled inside out as no one but another mother can truly understand.

The Father --poems by Sharon Olds

 Nonfiction / poetry

Alfred A. Knopf, A Borzoi Book

1992, First Edition

Paperback, 96 pages

5 Stars

 

This book won’t be for everyone, but for those it speaks to, it is a full symphony of words. It is about her time as a daughter, a caregiver, to her dying father. If you have not lost a close person to death, you may not be able to relate, but if you’ve lost people you love to a debilitating illness, this book will give you permission to weep, to laugh, to cry, to mourn. I know, that sounds so depressing, but it isn’t. It’s healing. It’s beauty in being human, in loving people who have their own foibles, in recognizing that part of the circle of life is birth, and part is death. 

 

This is a book of great beauty, and Olds is a gift to all of us. Buy this book. Read this book. Many times.

American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin --by Terrance Hayes

 Nonfiction / Poetry

Penguin Books; 1^st Edition

June 19, 2018

112 pages

5 Stars

 

The back cover tells us these 70 poems were written during the first 200 days of the immediate past president’s tenure in office. They will grab you, shake you, turn you upside down, and possibly inside out, and you’ll love every minute of it.

 

Every sonnet has the same title as the book. Every sonnet is different. The poem on the back cover begins, “I lock you in an American sonnet that is part prison, / Part panic closet, a little room in a house set aflame. /” He does, eventually, unlock the door and let you out, but you’ll want to go back in to see what’s next.

 

I must read more of this young man’s work. It is, in a word, Amazing!

These Tangled Vines --by Juliane MacLean

 Fiction / Contemporary Women’s 

302 pages / 7246 KB

5 Stars

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this. I would put it in the category of mindless brain-candy that was fun and contained no hip-hugging calories. Was it predictable? Mostly. Was it a romance? Sorta. Did I escape my reality for a few hours? You betcha! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I read fiction.

I’m not going to reveal the story, that’s what other reviewers have done. There is, however, one thing I wish the author had done. At the end of the chapters or the end of the book, she could have put the recipes in for the food she talked about! Paired with the proper wine. 

 

  

After reading one reviewer’s negative comments on another review site about the author and her book, I feel obligated to correct her (the reviewer, not the author). True, Tallahassee is NOT on the coast. The author never said it was. However, there are several lakes in or near Tallahassee, they often have beaches, and white caps are caused by winds and can appear on any water—lake, river, ocean. And Tallahassee is the largest city in the Panhandle. 

 

Defiled: The Sequel to Nailed Featuring John Tall Wolf (A Ron Ketchum Mystery, Book 2)-- by Joseph Flynn

 Fiction / Thriller

281 pages / 2898 KB

5 Stars

 

As I mentioned in my review of Nailed, I would have this book loaded on my eReader before the review was posted. It was. I did, however, have to wait a short while before I could read it. I knew once I started, I would not want to set it down. My suggestion? Make a pot of coffee and set yourself down early in the morning. I leave it to you how to handle kids and spouse. Perhaps you would be better off checking into a hotel with room service? For a much-needed break? Yes. There you go.

 

Indeed, John Tall Wolf returned, and helped solve the mystery of the death of a rich and not overly loved developer in Goldstrike, and the dirty bomb set to detonate and ruin the pristine lake for years and years. 

 

I don’t know that you need to read Nailed first, but, if possible, I suggest you do as it sets the tone, introduces the main characters, etc. Great story, marvelous read. Perfect escape. Oh, and I read somewhere that this is where John Tall Wolf was introduced. THAT explains why I missed someone. I’d already read the series!

four-legged girl --by Diane Seuss

 Nonfiction / Poetry

88 pages

5 Stars

 

This is the third Seuss book I have read. While I really liked this one, her use of language is superior, I also wasn’t as fond of this book as the other two. Her writing is dark, edgy, accessible, honest. It is powerful, with both laughter and pain.

 

You will note, even though it wasn’t my favorite of her books I’ve read, it’s still a 5-star book! She is truly one of the top poets of our day, and her words should be read, especially by others who write, or want to write, poetry.

Magnified --by Minnie Bruce Pratt

 I had the opportunity to attend an electronic reading of Minnie Bruce Pratt where she read some of the poems from this book. I knew what I was getting when I ordered it. These are poems she wrote as the love of her life was dying.

 

I knew they would be beautiful, and I knew they would be sad, but I was totally unprepared for the depth of emotion they brought forth. I laughed, I cried, and at times a deep primal scream of heartfelt pain escaped from my lips.

 

As an aside, Ms. Pratt is lesbian, as was her true love. I mention it because she did both at the reading and in the book. This is not, in my opinion a “queer lit” book. It is about a woman deeply in love, who cared for, nursed, held, loved another being until the very end. It is a book of loss. Anyone who is truly alive, anyone who has ever lost a lover or a friend, will be blessed by reading this book and know they have never truly been alone.