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3.5 Stars
Herstory is a collection of 39 poems about gender injustice in various walks of life and society. The blurb calls the collection verse-narratives, and I agree with the term. These are prose poems with more focus on the theme than the rhythm.
The author defines the collection as the life of a woman from womb to tomb. True to her word, the poems cover a range of topics, themes, and narratives. A few of them are accompanied by sketches, making it easy to understand the concept. While many other poems are easy to understand, I wasn’t sure about a couple of them. They seemed a little too vague and small to highlight the essence.
The use of simple terms in the poems is a delight. Having to look up meanings when reading poetry is a sure way to lose interest. That doesn’t happen with this book. However, it has a fair share of Indian words, which can cause confusion for non-Indian or even non-Hindi readers.
My favorites are the ones by Draupadi, Hidimdi, and Yashoda. Thankfully, this Draupadi doesn’t pin for Karna (a big plus). Hidimdi’s and Yashoda’s voices are heartfelt and touching.
I would have loved it if Mandodari’s poem talked about the darker side of Ravana. While the poem deals with Sita’s kidnap, there isn’t a word about the countless women he molested and raped, including Madodari’s sister. That itself is a big injustice when the collection vocalizes the trials and tribulations of women.
A few poems didn't make the kind of impact I wished for. This doesn’t take away from the gravity of the incidents. I would have loved it if the tone felt a little more personal and powerful. Nevertheless, the author deals with some important issues that society needs to deal with.
There’s a tribute to Afghani women, highlighting their plight (and the latest rulers have imposed mandatory head-to-toe covering for all females in the country). One very vital point I have to mention is the accompanying sketch. The description calls the body veil a hijab when the correct word is niqab. Hijab, chador, niqab, and burqa are four different forms of dressings that have varying levels of coverage.
There are a couple of tense issues but nothing major. The overall theme of the collection makes its mark on the readers. To sum up, Herstory does its best to live up to the description of the book.
I received a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you, Neha Bansal, for the book.
Herstory is a collection of 39 poems about gender injustice in various walks of life and society. The blurb calls the collection verse-narratives, and I agree with the term. These are prose poems with more focus on the theme than the rhythm.
The author defines the collection as the life of a woman from womb to tomb. True to her word, the poems cover a range of topics, themes, and narratives. A few of them are accompanied by sketches, making it easy to understand the concept. While many other poems are easy to understand, I wasn’t sure about a couple of them. They seemed a little too vague and small to highlight the essence.
The use of simple terms in the poems is a delight. Having to look up meanings when reading poetry is a sure way to lose interest. That doesn’t happen with this book. However, it has a fair share of Indian words, which can cause confusion for non-Indian or even non-Hindi readers.
My favorites are the ones by Draupadi, Hidimdi, and Yashoda. Thankfully, this Draupadi doesn’t pin for Karna (a big plus). Hidimdi’s and Yashoda’s voices are heartfelt and touching.
I would have loved it if Mandodari’s poem talked about the darker side of Ravana. While the poem deals with Sita’s kidnap, there isn’t a word about the countless women he molested and raped, including Madodari’s sister. That itself is a big injustice when the collection vocalizes the trials and tribulations of women.
A few poems didn't make the kind of impact I wished for. This doesn’t take away from the gravity of the incidents. I would have loved it if the tone felt a little more personal and powerful. Nevertheless, the author deals with some important issues that society needs to deal with.
There’s a tribute to Afghani women, highlighting their plight (and the latest rulers have imposed mandatory head-to-toe covering for all females in the country). One very vital point I have to mention is the accompanying sketch. The description calls the body veil a hijab when the correct word is niqab. Hijab, chador, niqab, and burqa are four different forms of dressings that have varying levels of coverage.
There are a couple of tense issues but nothing major. The overall theme of the collection makes its mark on the readers. To sum up, Herstory does its best to live up to the description of the book.
I received a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you, Neha Bansal, for the book.