Review by WestIndie001 -- The Immigrant's Lament
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WestIndie001
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Review by WestIndie001 -- The Immigrant's Lament
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Immigrant's Lament" by Mois benarroch.]
1 out of 4 stars
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A poet’s random rantings it seemed.
Though this book of poems isn’t divided by chapters and sections, I could somewhat speculate what the themes of each of these invisible sections would be. First section, the documentaries of an immigrant, his life, his experiences growing up. Second section, love, falling in love, going through a bad break-up, marrying then divorcing. Third section, society, religion, and war? And the fourth section may just be about…poetry. Again, that’s only speculation.
I enjoyed poems as a child—the rhyming kind, of course. In my teens, I started to appreciate all poetry, whether they rhymed or not. I gave The Immigrant’s Lament a chance, despite it not having a clear description. I interpreted each poem as short tales, perhaps each paragraph was compressed into a line of a few words. I think that’s what poetry is. But for what this book was, or however I interpreted it, I just didn’t enjoy it.
I’ll admit that I can’t distinguish good poetry from bad poetry, as I’m not an expert. I only know what I like and don’t like. I’ve read poems that had enlightened me, made me sympathize for the author, and made me contemplate the meaning of existence. Mois Benarroch didn’t provide me any of that. He did on some of the poems, but more on that later. I could indeed feel his emotions, his anger, his joys, what and who he loved, his honest thoughts and feelings (assuming all this is based on his own thoughts and feelings). He succeeded with that, displaying all emotions in the verses, being open with the reader, and not holding back.
There were a few poems I did enjoy, or at least, was able to relate to. And those were, Your Thousand Lovers, Nothing I’d Rather Do, and In the Land of Freedom. I thought Nothing I’d Rather Do was beautiful, it was like lyrics to a pleasant love song. But, really, most of the poems just left me puzzled. The last poem, Self Portrait of the Poet in a Family Mirror, was grueling to get through—it was over ten pages of randomness it felt like.
Maybe I have this author misunderstood. He is foreign, and perhaps where he comes from has a different style and taste from American literature. I had to give this 1 out of 4 stars. This wasn’t elegant prose to me, it was random rantings, a guy’s personal journal written in lines and verses and presented as poetry. It was as though he wrote selfishly, not caring whether he had something to offer the reader.
******
The Immigrant's Lament
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1 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
A poet’s random rantings it seemed.
Though this book of poems isn’t divided by chapters and sections, I could somewhat speculate what the themes of each of these invisible sections would be. First section, the documentaries of an immigrant, his life, his experiences growing up. Second section, love, falling in love, going through a bad break-up, marrying then divorcing. Third section, society, religion, and war? And the fourth section may just be about…poetry. Again, that’s only speculation.
I enjoyed poems as a child—the rhyming kind, of course. In my teens, I started to appreciate all poetry, whether they rhymed or not. I gave The Immigrant’s Lament a chance, despite it not having a clear description. I interpreted each poem as short tales, perhaps each paragraph was compressed into a line of a few words. I think that’s what poetry is. But for what this book was, or however I interpreted it, I just didn’t enjoy it.
I’ll admit that I can’t distinguish good poetry from bad poetry, as I’m not an expert. I only know what I like and don’t like. I’ve read poems that had enlightened me, made me sympathize for the author, and made me contemplate the meaning of existence. Mois Benarroch didn’t provide me any of that. He did on some of the poems, but more on that later. I could indeed feel his emotions, his anger, his joys, what and who he loved, his honest thoughts and feelings (assuming all this is based on his own thoughts and feelings). He succeeded with that, displaying all emotions in the verses, being open with the reader, and not holding back.
There were a few poems I did enjoy, or at least, was able to relate to. And those were, Your Thousand Lovers, Nothing I’d Rather Do, and In the Land of Freedom. I thought Nothing I’d Rather Do was beautiful, it was like lyrics to a pleasant love song. But, really, most of the poems just left me puzzled. The last poem, Self Portrait of the Poet in a Family Mirror, was grueling to get through—it was over ten pages of randomness it felt like.
Maybe I have this author misunderstood. He is foreign, and perhaps where he comes from has a different style and taste from American literature. I had to give this 1 out of 4 stars. This wasn’t elegant prose to me, it was random rantings, a guy’s personal journal written in lines and verses and presented as poetry. It was as though he wrote selfishly, not caring whether he had something to offer the reader.
******
The Immigrant's Lament
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes
Like WestIndie001's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "Everything I Know about Business and Marketing, I Learned from THE TOXIC AVENGER" by Jeffrey W. Sass
