Review by amy shipps -- The Immigrant's Lament

[amy shipps]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Immigrant's Lament" by Mois benarroch.]

---

2 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

The Immigrant's Lament By Mois Benarroch is a non-fiction book of poetry. In this collection of poems, the author takes you on a journey through the life of an immigrant. The poems are written through the eyes of the author as he expresses turmoil, grief, and regrets through his writing.

He begins the journey by expressing his feelings on living as an immigrant, he writes, "This land in which I was not born, my children were born here, this land didn't rejoice toward me and didn't give me joy." As the book goes on the poems then tell of his childhood in which he describes as a black flower he did not pick, a childhood where he felt like an outcast to all. During this collection of poetry, the author also deplores the breakdown of family values as he writes about members of his own family. Also, he writes regarding freedom, war, and the global economy and how each impact his opinions and views of the world he was living in. As the journey comes to an end, the writer talks of his shortcomings in life and the many regrets that he has. He looks back at his own failures as he remembers the countless people that he was forced to say goodbye to due to death and secretly wishes that it was his journey in life that would come to an end forever.

The author writes his poems with great emotion, using his words carefully to describe the grief and regret that this immigrant felt throughout his life. He was brutally honest with his words as well, nothing was sugar-coated for the readers sake. However, even though the poems were for the most part very straight-forward, I felt that several were difficult to understand what the true meaning behind them was exactly.

I don't think this is a book for just anyone that loves poetry. This is definitely a book that you have to really stop and think about to be able to appreciate the beauty of the poem. I had to go back and read the book for a second time, really taking my time before I truly understood the emotion of this immigrant's journey through life.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. Although, beautifully written, I gave it 2 stars because of the inability to understand what the author was trying to portray with his selection of words in a few of the poems.

******
The Immigrant's Lament
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes

Like amy shipps's review? Post a comment saying so!