Official Review: Cafune by Archana Kumar

[CataclysmicKnight]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Cafune" by Archana Kumar.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Cafuné is Archana Kumar's debut into published poetry, a collection of 76 poems swirling through every facet of love - from the sweet, youthful stuff to the heartbreaking, suicide-inducing endings and every wild variation in between. The author gives a great hint of what's to come with the title itself: 'cafuné' in Portuguese means, as Archana herself states, "To repeatedly run your fingers through someone's hair, in a soft and affectionate manner." In addition to being a word of foreign vocabulary that I'll be using the rest of my life, this tenderness and sweetness makes a perfect segue into both the hardships and greatness of love in the 80+ pages that follow.

Cafuné's poems vary wildly, and despite the fact that they're easy to read, they're still powerful. It's really hard to read more than a page or two without feeling bad for how Archana must have been crushed in the past by love, and yet feel hope through the brighter lines, even when they're often crushed a line or two down in the same poem. Archana's talent lies here: her ability to paint the beauty of the good times and the bleakness of the dark times is evident on nearly every page in this book.

To be completely honest, this collection didn't sit so well with me on my first read. Like Napoleon Dynamite or The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, this one took a second read through to appreciate, although it's not as glorious as either of those. With a few exceptions, these are not like the poetry of old, where phrases must be studied meticulously for meanings or with flowing meter and rhyme. The haiku and tanka poems she titles don't even fit their respective definitions in fact. No, for the most part, these are short, straightforward thoughts, experiences and emotions that just happen to use some clever word choices to express themselves, and a fair number of them do a great job at it.

While there's a good amount to like about this poetry collection, I have to mention the grammatical errors. Poetry is a world where every capital letter (or lack thereof) can mean much more than in a novel. One common example comes in Archana's use of the word "I". Many of her poems keep it lower case, which I took to mean that she thought less of herself, but sometimes in those same poems the "I" would be capitalized for seemingly no reason. This isn't a gigantic deal, but again, in the world of poetry grammar is a major deal.

All in all, I give Archana Kumar's Cafuné 2 out of 4 stars. I really missed the more formal methods of poetry here, and too many missed their target with me. As I read the book, my rating fluctuated between 3 and 2, but there were simply too many that missed for me to give it a 3. If you prefer your poetry to follow rhyme and meter, or are looking for something light and cheery, this is not for you. Despite all that I've said, however, those who enjoy the darker love poetry should really get a kick out of the emotions and pictures Archana manages to conjure in these pages, and should keep an eye on her in the future. With some polish, she should be one to look out for in the future!

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Cafune
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-- February 21st, 2015, 8:16 am --

The Brambleby Books website has a few samples of the poetry from this book. I wasn't sure of the legality of posting one here, so if you'd like to read a few poems from the book, check out the website below:

http://www.bramblebybooks.co.uk/cafune.asp

[Lisalovecraft]

Nice review! I find it very difficult to rate poetry. It is often so personal. There is very little modern poetry that I like.. I think it may be like my taste in modern art.. I don't always understand it, or it doesn't speak to me. Anyway, I love the word Cafune now, how interesting!

[nitesh]

Sounds Interesting...will definitely read

[bookowlie]

Great review! The book's title really caught my interest. I agree with your point that often poetry needs a second reading to appreciate. Still, it can sometimes just not be your cup of tea.

[ejcogan]

Great review! I agree with Lisalovecraft. Poetry is such a personal experience that it would have to speak to the reader on some level of personal experience. Kudos to you for reading this collection and again, great review.

[CataclysmicKnight]

Hey everyone and thanks! I totally agree that poetry isn't an easy thing to judge - it's personal and special to the author, and I really think that Archana has it in her to write some really great stuff in the future, and some of the poems in this book are pretty awesome as well!

[archkumar21]

I am glad to have the book reviewed by you sir. Honesty is always appreciated, and i shall take care of the things that you have pointed out, if & when i get published next.

[CataclysmicKnight]

I am glad to have the book reviewed by you sir. Honesty is always appreciated, and i shall take care of the things that you have pointed out, if & when i get published next.

I think that's "when"! And you're absolutely welcome! I hope more of it makes its way here and into the world. It was my honor and pleasure

[kimmyschemy06]

Archana's talent lies here: her ability to paint the beauty of the good times and the bleakness of the dark times is evident on nearly every page in this book.

I love this part of your review. Though I'm not much into poetry, I think I would enjoy this collection. Nice review!

[CataclysmicKnight]

Thanks very much for the kind words! And I hope you do enjoy it if you give it a shot