Re: Official Review: Prose-and-Poems by Pravin Kumar
Posted: 14 May 2017, 12:37
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of “Prose-and-Poems" by Pravin Kumar.]
When I read a book, I like to know something about the author, in order to be able to place it in some context. The name of the author of Prose-and-Poems is stated as Pravin Kumar, without some additional information given about him. My search on the internet showed an author with the name Praveen Kumar, but I am not sure if he is the same Pravin Kumar in question. Prose-and-Poems contains forty-eight poems.
The author’s love for nature shines through the poems as the dominant theme. He covers topics such as the seasons, stars, plants, birds, mountains, rivers, beaches, flowers, food, love, health and happiness. In a philosophical way he points to the cyclic nature of life – with humans being born, growing up, dying, and the birth of another being. He talks of rainwater flowing into the seas and rivers, evaporating to form clouds, with the clouds pouring down as rain. While we are aware of these things, he reinforces that consciousness in new and refreshing ways. He portrays the natural ecosystem as the joy of life that we must appreciate as humans. He buttresses this view by including in the book stunning pictures of the things that he writes about. Along the way, he promotes religion – that when you are close to nature, then "you’re never far from the Creator!"
Personally, the poems awakened in me an awareness of the things of nature that I have taken for granted, or overlooked. I bought into the author’s view that we ought to always be in awe of the beauty of nature. He suggests that when we are in tune with nature we fulfill the purpose of life, like roses whose sweet fragrances permeate a garden.
I first thought that the book consists of poems and stories in prose, on account of its title. However, that is not the case. What the author writes is a form of poetry that closely resembles prose. This makes it possible for him to relate his own experiences, as well as tell stories, in a style that makes both reading and understanding easy. He avoids the complexities of poetry devices such as rhymes, rhythms, onomatopoeia, consonance, and others. He makes use of metaphors and similes for purposes of comparison, as when he equates nurses to angels. The author writes in both the descriptive and narrative modes, as suits the particular poem.
My beef with the book is the lack of background information about the author, as I have stated earlier. In addition, there is no author’s preface or foreword, as is the norm to introduce a book to the reader. The pages of the PDF copy I obtained are not numbered, making it difficult to reference back. These noted drawbacks constrain me from awarding the book four stars. It clearly merits a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. It is a book that will resonate well with lovers of nature, as well as those who are inclined to religion. Fans of poetry will also like this book, Prose-and-Poems.
-- 16 May 2017, 09:52 --
I really recommend to all to read this book. The visual aesthetics of the beauty of nature and the pictures, as well as the imagery in the poems, are truly stunning.
When I read a book, I like to know something about the author, in order to be able to place it in some context. The name of the author of Prose-and-Poems is stated as Pravin Kumar, without some additional information given about him. My search on the internet showed an author with the name Praveen Kumar, but I am not sure if he is the same Pravin Kumar in question. Prose-and-Poems contains forty-eight poems.
The author’s love for nature shines through the poems as the dominant theme. He covers topics such as the seasons, stars, plants, birds, mountains, rivers, beaches, flowers, food, love, health and happiness. In a philosophical way he points to the cyclic nature of life – with humans being born, growing up, dying, and the birth of another being. He talks of rainwater flowing into the seas and rivers, evaporating to form clouds, with the clouds pouring down as rain. While we are aware of these things, he reinforces that consciousness in new and refreshing ways. He portrays the natural ecosystem as the joy of life that we must appreciate as humans. He buttresses this view by including in the book stunning pictures of the things that he writes about. Along the way, he promotes religion – that when you are close to nature, then "you’re never far from the Creator!"
Personally, the poems awakened in me an awareness of the things of nature that I have taken for granted, or overlooked. I bought into the author’s view that we ought to always be in awe of the beauty of nature. He suggests that when we are in tune with nature we fulfill the purpose of life, like roses whose sweet fragrances permeate a garden.
I first thought that the book consists of poems and stories in prose, on account of its title. However, that is not the case. What the author writes is a form of poetry that closely resembles prose. This makes it possible for him to relate his own experiences, as well as tell stories, in a style that makes both reading and understanding easy. He avoids the complexities of poetry devices such as rhymes, rhythms, onomatopoeia, consonance, and others. He makes use of metaphors and similes for purposes of comparison, as when he equates nurses to angels. The author writes in both the descriptive and narrative modes, as suits the particular poem.
My beef with the book is the lack of background information about the author, as I have stated earlier. In addition, there is no author’s preface or foreword, as is the norm to introduce a book to the reader. The pages of the PDF copy I obtained are not numbered, making it difficult to reference back. These noted drawbacks constrain me from awarding the book four stars. It clearly merits a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. It is a book that will resonate well with lovers of nature, as well as those who are inclined to religion. Fans of poetry will also like this book, Prose-and-Poems.
-- 16 May 2017, 09:52 --
I really recommend to all to read this book. The visual aesthetics of the beauty of nature and the pictures, as well as the imagery in the poems, are truly stunning.