Official Review: The Arizona Papers by XVE

Yvonne Monique · Post by **Yvonne Monique** » 14 Sep 2020, 05:38

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Arizona Papers" by XVE.]

4 out of 4 stars

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In 6 chapters, the book The Arizona papers offers a compilation of poems about everyday issues, such as love, children, disappointments, getting older, and ethical or political points of view. We get an insight into the way of thinking of XVE, the author, and follow his (sometimes controversial) thoughts throughout the book. The poems are written in free verse and the irregular language is used in many surprising ways. The author plays with different fonts and font sizes, punctuation, bold or cursive words, a couple of pictures, and even something as unexpected as an emoticon, which makes the reading experience very complete.

For me, poetry is more about the emotions it evokes in me than about the meaning itself. The book title is a bit deceiving because none of the poems are referring specifically to Arizona (as the book title might suggest) and can be understood, even if the reader is not familiar with Arizona (or the United States in general). I found this a very enjoyable read, which achieved making me think on a deeper level, going over certain poems several times to grasp their full meaning or to detect hidden twists and turns. The book teaches us some valuable life lessons and I can see myself already quoting selected stanzas from the poems that I have read.

Considering that I am not a ‘professional’ poetry reader, I appreciate that the poems are written in an understandable way and that the author tries to connect with his audience, writing about up-to-date subjects. For that reason, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.

This book is highly recommendable for people who are not comfortable with difficult poetry. The poems in The Arizona papers are fairly easy to understand (but not therefore less interesting!). I feel that the message that the author tries to transmit will appeal to many readers. I cannot think of any audience that would not enjoy this book, unless you really hate poetry (and even in that case, I would still tell you to just give it a try).

This book has been extremely well edited. I have not been able to detect any grammatical errors or typos, apart from the intended ones. The entire layout has been carefully looked after and adds valuable details to the whole experience of reading these poems. There is some profanity in a few poems, but I did not find this disturbing as it is in accordance with the emotions that the author tries to express.

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The Arizona Papers
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FABIAN_BATS · Post by **FABIAN_BATS** » 15 Sep 2020, 06:31

Interesting review. An emoticon? really? The book seems as interesting as your review. I have not read a book of poems of this kind before, with such dynamism, but I am curious and look forward to reading this. I agree with your thoughts on the emotions poems invoke being more important than their literal meaning. Thanks for your review.

AnnOgochukwu · Post by **AnnOgochukwu** » 17 Sep 2020, 09:46

I too am not a 'professional' poetry reader but I'd like to give it a try because your review is really interesting and compelling, and you stated that the poems are not too difficult to understand.

Ify_Reviewer · Post by **Ify_Reviewer** » 20 Sep 2020, 08:03

I love poetry and the emotions they evoke. Good that the book met the right standards.... Nice review

Yvonne Monique · Post by **Yvonne Monique** » 26 Sep 2020, 08:25

FABIAN_BATS wrote: ↑15 Sep 2020, 06:31 Interesting review. An emoticon? really? The book seems as interesting as your review. I have not read a book of poems of this kind before, with such dynamism, but I am curious and look forward to reading this. I agree with your thoughts on the emotions poems invoke being more important than their literal meaning. Thanks for your review.

I'm glad you found the review interesting and hope you'll have a chance to read the book too!

Yvonne Monique · Post by **Yvonne Monique** » 26 Sep 2020, 08:28

AnnOgochukwu wrote: ↑17 Sep 2020, 09:46 I too am not a 'professional' poetry reader but I'd like to give it a try because your review is really interesting and compelling, and you stated that the poems are not too difficult to understand.

Exactly, the poems are not too far fetched and are enjoyable to read. Thanks for your comment