kyatic's Reviews (974)

I accidentally read this on the perfect day, not realising that it was World Poetry Day when I packed this little book in my bag to read on my London trip, and in hindsight, that was a sign. I'm not normally one for poetry or short stories, and this is both, but I wanted to try something new, and I'm so genuinely pleased that I did. Discovering this work was quite simply a privilege. It has to be one of the most beautifully written volumes I've read. The sense of place and character in each short story is so unique and well defined, and the poems are all haunting in their own ways. I'm excited to read more from this writer; lines such as 'She never believed in ghosts until she had one of her own' have made this a book I'll be rereading often.

It's a good thing that I don't mind crying in public, because I was sniffling on a train with this one. Bolander is an absolute master of prose. I can't even pick a section that I loved best because that would mean copying the whole book out. A really wonderful, elegaic read.

I bought this on a bit of a whim a few years ago, and then promptly never picked it up because I was afraid it might be the kind of book that hurts too much to read. I had a train journey a few weeks ago and this book fit nicely in my bag, so I took it, and finally read it. And it sort of was the kind of book that hurts too much to read, but I'm still glad I read it.

The language here is just really without peer, and I've yet to read a retelling of the Iliad which deals with Thetis' plight so well as this one does. If I had to pick anything to criticise, it would be that Cook glosses over Patroclus almost entirely, and that there's a lot of references to rape which, although thematically appropriate here, do sometimes jar, especially when we're supposed to relate to characters who are capable of such awful things. Still, this is a slim and fruitful retelling of the Iliad, and it humanises some of the more demonised characters in interesting ways.