Official Review: Of Illusions and Ink Spills

[MarisaRose]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Of Illusions and Ink Spills" by Divya Hirani.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Of Illusions and Ink Spills by Divya Hirani is a collection of free-verse poetry. There are approximately sixty poems in this collection, and they range in length from almost a full page to only four lines. At the beginning of the collection, an introduction is provided by the author that describes herself as a ‘young professional immigrant in a foreign land.’ However, any person, young or old, will have no trouble connecting with the themes and words written within the pages of this collection.

The poetry itself doesn’t follow any set standards. Many of the poems are free verse, some employ rhyming meter, but most do not. The author tends to use elaborate wording, which worked most of the time but felt overdone in some places. Additionally, there were some wording choices along the way that gave me pause, as their meaning was unclear given the context. For example, on page 48, the line ‘My witchen subconscious’ eluded me. Similarly, on page 57, the line ‘Tell tale till going kaching’ was baffling and difficult to decipher. Moreover, the collection is missing a table of contents, which became irksome when I wanted to return to a specific poem.

The element of this collection that stands out the most is the author’s distinct voice. The author’s tone is strong and unwavering, and the more of the poems I read, the more I could paint a picture of her defiant and questioning personality. It was enjoyable to see the author resonating from the pages of the collection instead of getting lost in overly wordy or meandering prose.

For the most part, the themes in these poems are clearly conveyed to the reader. Poems dealing with monotonous daily routines, fitting in with the world and with your peer group, questioning society’s rules, questioning faith, reinventing one’s self, and familial relationships were all relatively easy to decipher. However, there were a few poems in the collection that were more difficult to interpret. This isn’t a collection of poems that can be read once and easily understood; for many of the poems, I had to read them multiple times and really ponder their meaning before I could come up with some type of message or theme, whether intended or not by the author.

For this collection, the things I disliked about the poetry also ended up being some of my favorite aspects of the author’s work. Many of the poems were difficult to decipher, yet I found that I thoroughly enjoyed the amount of thought it took to fully understand the themes and messages of these poems. Too often, the meaning of poetry is spoon fed to the reader; that is not the case with Hirani’s work, and for that I happily award this book 3 out of 4 stars. I chose to forgo a four star rating because of the use of some indecipherable words in places that distracted from my overall understanding of the author’s words, and the lack of a table of contents. For poetry fans that enjoy collections that make you think about everyday life and questioning of societal standards and faith, I highly recommend this book.

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Of Illusions and Ink Spills
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Like MarisaRose's review? Post a comment saying so!

[kandscreeley]

I love the title, but I'm not really into poetry. I'm not sure why, but it's just never really been my thing. It sounds good for those who enjoy that kind of thing in spite of the passages that are difficult to decipher. Thanks!

[bookowlie]

Great review! I liked your comment that the things you disliked wound up being your favorite parts of the book. It can be challenging yet rewarding to figure out poems where the meaning is very subtle.

[prettysmart]

I agree that meaning behind poems should not be obvious to the reader however if its written in a overly complex manner that leaves a lot of room for mixed information or misinterpretation, its a no for me but awesome review!

[Sahani Nimandra]

I like the pop out of the author's distinctive voice, it sets a unique tone to the book. Thank you very much for your detailed review!

[Ashiyya Tariq]

The art of poetry is to convey the message clearly to its target audience. And I think, this book fulfills this demand. Thanks for your nice review.

[NL Hartje]

For me, I almost have to be melancholy to enjoy poetry. I admit that my mind isn't mature enough to sit and ponder. I need that immediate gratification of the author telling me whats going on. Loved your review though, I'll take my poetry that way!

[Lest92]

The themes explored in the anthology interest me - I'll overlook the missing table of contents, though I agree it's annoying not to have one.

[Poppy Drear]

I think free-verse is a very powerful format of poetry in the right hands. Despite the strange wording at times, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I think the cover is quite striking, too; I've always had a bit of a weakness for black-and-white geometric patterns.

[londonmartine]

Loved the title, loved the cover, and loved your review! I like your very fair balanced approach - I think I would like this book more than you did. Thanks for this!

[gali]

A collection of free-verse poetry that doesn’t follow any set standards sounds unique. Elaborate wording is great when done right. Too bad about the use of some indecipherable words. It is interesting that the things you disliked also ended up being your favorite. I am glad you enjoyed the book overall. Thank you for the review!

[KLafser]

Very nice review! Tough genre for me, poetry is something I feel like I need to hear sung or spoken. I read through the first couple, and I agree with you that the author's word choices make the poem. Thanks!

[Strangerthanfiction]

Nice review. The cover and title really grabbed my attention but poetry is really not my thing but this does sound like a great read for fans of poetry with a distinct voice, vivid imagery, and poems that make you think. Thanks so much for sharing.

[RebeccasReading]

Poetry just is not my thing. It's good that you enjoyed it though! Thanks for the review!

[GEORGEMWETERI]

Nice review.
It is pointing out the key directives to writing a pleasing simple poem which is understood by everyone.The sweetness of any poem is the flow.