Official Review: Carpool to Salt City by Youssef Ahalla

[stoppoppingtheP]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Carpool to Salt City" by Youssef Ahalla.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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It is often difficult to write a review on a collection of poetry, because poetry is different to other types of writing in that the poet often gives a bit of their soul into the poems. When reading these poems, mere words and meanings are not only reflected, but tangible emotions. If the poem is able to transfer these emotions to the reader, then the poet has done his job correctly.

Carpool to Salt City is a Collection of Poetry written by Youssef Ahalla. This collection is made up of seven poems so it is a fairly short book, of about a few dozen pages.

The author has influences from French, Arab, and English backgrounds making his work multicultural and accessible to a wide spectrum of people. His poetry is greatly influenced by his environment and background. For example, he talks about village life, olive groves, harvesting the crops, and other similar themes that are an ingrained part of the North African lifestyle. Other topics that the poet touches on are the uprisings and struggle against the oppression of the government, death, and of course, love.

The first two poems of the book deal with the conflicts in that area of the world. The first poem ‘Salt City’ speaks about the pain and sorrow that he has gone through, and about resisting the oppression. The second poem is about broken dreams. It reminisces about the days gone by and the harsh reality that they are now left to face.

The reader picks up many political undertones in which the poet tries to convey the struggle for freedom in his country. Even the poetry they write is restricted, as some may see it as going against the government. Readers who aware of the news will know of the recent uprisings in that part of the world and therefore relate to these poems.

Another of the poems named ‘Secret Tips’ is a poem that seems to be written to himself, in which he gives himself advice on how to woo a lover and how to behave when she is around.

‘Tiny Details’ is the last of his poems, and one that I particularly enjoyed. Like its namesake, the poem is about the tiny details in life that we take for granted and seem not to notice. The poem evolves and talks about him and his lover writing poems that the politicians did not particularly like, and how they were caught for their literary crimes. The last few lines of this poem stuck with me:
‘they let me go the next day
But they keep you one week
For “tiny details”’

The style of his writing is freestyle, there is no rhyming involved, and each line is made up of short phrases or sentences. This style continues throughout the book. Another thing I noticed is that the author hardly uses full-stops or commas, but rather lets his sentences slide into each other. I don’t know, if perhaps he feels that he can do that due to poetic license, but it made the poems a bit strange to read. Although I enjoyed many of the poems, I did find one or two misspelt words which may put other readers off.

I would rate this book three out of four stars. I am giving it this rating because although it is enjoyable to read, it was not astounding material. The moods of the poems were bittersweet, reminiscing, longing memories, and the painful truth. If readers enjoy reading poems that evoke these kinds of emotions, then they should try out this book.

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Carpool to Salt City
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[chytach18-]

I think the book is for me.

[zeldas_lullaby]

Great review! This seems like a rather flimsy poetry collection. I don't think I'd care for it.

[Tanaya]

I don't usually like poetry, but the subject matter of these poems really speaks to me. I like emotional reading from time to time.

[gali]

Not my kind of book, but nice review.

[Levi]

Great job on the review. It sounds like you captured the content perfectly. The tiny details portion sounds interesting.

[stoppoppingtheP]

Thanks guys. (and girls)

[crazilydramatic]

These poems sound thought provoking, since they deal with big issues such as politics and death. Maybe I'll give this a try...

[signed]

Thanks for the review!

[Kourtney Bradley]

Nice review! I'm not typically in to poems, but sounds like it was pretty well written.

[purplepeepleeater]

I can see where poetry books would be difficult to review, unless you have some understanding of writing poetry. You did a great job, thank you!!

[Heidi M Simone]

Wonderful review! I'm not usually into poetry (sometimes I have a hard time understanding the meaning), but congratulations to the author for receiving a positive review!

[Rachaelamb1]

I'm not big into poetry (unless you count children's rhyming books), but I'm going to check this one out. I love that the author incorporates his experiences from other cultures into his poetry.

[gali]

As I remarked above, I'm not into poetry. I am glad you enjoyed it despite (or because of) the freestyle.

Congratulations to the author on being BOTD!

[Joy Boudreau]

Thanks for the review - i always enjoy a glimpse into someone's emotions. This may give a different perspective about a culture in anguish a world away.