Review of The Self-indulgent Whinings of Don Astyanax Jones

[Christabel Uzoamaka]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Self-indulgent Whinings of Don Astyanax Jones" by James Seeley.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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The Self-Indulgent Whinings of Don Astyanax Jones is a book containing twenty-seven poems. Just like the title suggests, the poems show the author’s thoughts and past dreams. The author addresses the first poem to a drummer boy who, despite his innocence and frailty, seems to be in the army and is surrounded by sterner men and the possibility of death. Generally, the poems have a dark tone and talk of uncertainty, emotional instability, and even death. The author writes some poems in the first person, and he addresses an unknown subject in some others.

Even though I read this book twice, it was utterly difficult to decipher most of the poems. With only five words, From Left to Right made no point. The author also used a lot of unfamiliar English words, making me consult a dictionary constantly. Words like pindling, hieroglyphs, unspindling, fulgurant, and others did not make for a fluid reading experience. I found only a handful of poems that I could relate to. I loved Verses for Children. I found Bottom Line witty. I was not sure if I glimpsed a deep part of the author in Arriving, but I liked its simplicity.

I usually like authors using another language in English poems; I find that it enhances their flavor. However, with French, German, and Latin words, the author’s style was exasperating. Sometimes, the foreign words did not match my understanding of the preceding and subsequent words. For example, in the poem Thirteen Blocks Through Ludgate Low, the author says, “I just had eine hure stuffed with cabbage and potatoes.” This statement was strange because the previous stanza did not talk about anything as crude as “eine hure.” And after that line, the author says, “Ha, ha, il fait cher vivre, right?” I found it disconcerting. A glossary with translations and interpretations of some poems will make things better.

The author did not organize almost all the poems into proper stanzas. Some lines even had indentations. And he wrote some poems like a drama with dialogue and no clear distinction between the scenes. Especially in the last poem, The Self-Indulgent Whinings of Don Astyanax Jones, I found myself struggling to understand what exactly was happening in the different scenes and how they related to the poem’s title. Another major issue is that the author’s name is not clear. On the front cover page, his name is James Seeley, while on the back cover page, it is Jim Seeley. The author also has a website where his name is Jim Seeley. I could not tell the correct name.

I found only a few poems enjoyable, so my rating is 2 out of 4. I also did not rate it lower on the off chance that other readers who like poetry with a dash of drama, its ideal audience, might resonate with more poems in the book. Just as the title says, this is a book of self-indulgent “whinings.” Readers might find some poems funny or just out of their depth. However, you won’t find words of inspiration or deep insight here. Poetry has a different set of rules than prose, so I counted no errors.

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The Self-indulgent Whinings of Don Astyanax Jones
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[Mbenma Esther 080]

I prefer poems that are easily understood. Thanks for the review.

[SirLifted]

While I'm not a huge fan of poems, especially long ones, I like them if their words are simple and very understandable. I'm still surprised it has a 2 out of 4 rating. I personally don't want to read it anytime soon.

[Aisha Yakub]

Thank you for your honest feedback. The peculiarity of poetry is its relatability. It'll be nice if this is worked on.

[Walter R]

Have always been a great fan of anthologies. Would definitely love to add this to my bookshelf and hopefully try it out! Great review.

[Mildred Echesa]

Sadly, the book is not properly organised. I'll still read it though