Review of Shadows

[TrishaCleve]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Shadows" by William Stephen Edwards.]

---

4 out of 5 stars

---

Share This Review

---

In a collection of verses, titled Shadows, William Stephen Edwards shares with the world his views on life and humanity. Filled with a myriad of themes Shadows is suitable for a wide array of people. Edwards shares his thoughts on war, love, and death, along with many other topics. He has given to the public over 200 poems, pieces of prose, and other bits of himself. There is something for everyone in Shadows.

Shadows contains a staggering number of words that I, an enthusiast of word oddities, am not familiar with. This volume of artistic conjuring gives the reader much to learn. Words such as ‘sagacious', ’besotted', ‘tuberculotic', and ‘athwart’ are some gems hidden in this book. Having a dictionary at hand while taking in these pages will assuage feelings of mental deficiencies that might enter a reader's mind.

The only downfall I think this book has is the randomness of theme from one piece to the next. It may be beneficial to group pieces that are similar together. If this were the case, the emotional roller-coaster would be less severe.

Shadows, a book of poetry and verse, is bound to have unexpected spellings and punctuations. These differences are what makes a poet’s work have palpable emotion. That being said, I did not find any errors that I couldn’t chalk up to being simply Edward’s style.

I will rate Shadows with 4 out of 5 stars. The deduction comes from the emotional roller coaster I encountered while reading; The ups and downs, repeatedly, were rough on my mind. An example is Safeerah Butterfly on page 192, which is followed by All Along on page 198. The first is a heart-wrenching tale about the death of a child and the pain endured by her family. All Along is an adult-themed work involving feelings such as love, trust, and loss. I had to look long and hard to find something I did not like about this book; I believe that others will enjoy the beauty of Edward's book as well.

Furthermore, I suggest this book to all adult readers who enjoy honesty in an author’s words. There is death and pain in Shadows, also love and happiness. As I mentioned earlier, everyone who reads Shadows will find at least one piece that resonates in their soul, and will leave them thinking about it in the days to come.

******
Shadows
View: on Bookshelves

[The Keeper Jr]

I believe I've landed on the perfect review. Poetry is the one thing I will never say no to. I loved your review and the way you mentioned everything about the book. The name of the book also has that vibe of poetry in it. I enjoyed the review and I'm glad I read about this book. Will definitely try it when I get the chance. Looking forward to read more of your beautiful reviews.
Thanks a lot!

[TrishaCleve]

I believe I've landed on the perfect review. Poetry is the one thing I will never say no to. I loved your review and the way you mentioned everything about the book. The name of the book also has that vibe of poetry in it. I enjoyed the review and I'm glad I read about this book. Will definitely try it when I get the chance. Looking forward to read more of your beautiful reviews.
Thanks a lot!

Thank you for your kind words. That is the type of encouragement that makes me excited to choose my next topic for review.
Thank you for using some of your time to read and comment on my review.
Have a good night.

[Anon_Reviewer]

I can understand why switching between such hugely contrasting themes can be unsettling. It would probably catch me off guard as well. But at least the author made up for that in other other ways. Thanks for the insightful review!