Official Review: beyond rock bottom by Kara Petrovic
Posted: 17 Jun 2018, 19:49
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "beyond rock bottom" by Kara Petrovic.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Beyond Rock Bottom is a collection of poetry by Kara Petrovic, where she examines some of her own experiences, in the hope of showing people who have been through something similar that they are not alone. She starts the collection with a trigger warning, as some of the topics she deals with include suicide, mental illness, and sexual assault. And while she does talk about all these things, it is never in a graphic or gratuitous way. Rather, she explores her own encounters, and the effect they have had on her. The book is divided up into four sections, which loosely describe the theme of the poems they contain: For the Ones Who Did Not Love Me, For When Love Is Not Enough, For When I Did Not Love Myself and For Love Itself. This helps add a sense of narrative and structure to the book.
The author uses powerful imagery throughout the collection. In one particular poem, "On Refunds," she describes a book of someone’s thoughts about her as merely being “a cover, a back, and a single blank page.” In another poem, "On Thorns," she says “I sew my lips into a smile and you tell me it’s the prettiest I’ve ever been.” By using these unusual descriptions, Petrovic manages to convey how she’s feeling in a very visceral way, while also creating very striking images. A line that particularly resonates with me is the line “I was never suited for domesticity. I burn all I cook and stain my clothes pink.” This desire not to be confined to traditional definitions of womanhood is something that I find incredibly powerful. While none of the poems in this collection are particularly difficult to understand, and some of the metaphors may seem a bit obvious, it is this very simplicity that makes the collection so easy to consume and relate to.
I was unable to pick one favourite poem from the collection, so I settled on two. The first one is called "Of The Flowers." To me at least, it seems to describe a destructive relationship, through the metaphor of plucking petals from a flower. The poem sums up how even when you know you are engaging in destructive behaviour, it can sometimes be impossible to stop. It is one of the shorter poems in the collection, and I love how it manages to succinctly capture a very particular experience. The second poem I love is "Little Wolves," where Petrovic describes herself as “the opposite of the boy who cried wolf.” As someone who suffers from executive dysfunction, I really feel this powerful description of inaction in the face of suffering. Petrovic creates a powerful allegory by utilising a familiar story and subverting it. While both of these poems deal with similar themes, they do so in very different ways, and they both resonate deeply with me.
While I really like this book overall, I did feel that some of the poems were a little repetitive at times. I think this is a collection to be perused at leisure, dipped in and out of, rather than consumed in one sitting. It was incredibly well formatted and edited, and I did not notice any errors. The only other criticism I have is that while it is all well and good that the author hopes to show people there is someone out there like them, I feel this is not enough. I think it might have been good to have a list of resources at the back of the book, perhaps in the form of either websites or phone numbers, where people could access help if they were affected by any of the issues mentioned.
Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars, as it deals with very serious themes in a way that is simple but powerful at the same time. I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of modern poetry, particularly free verse. While I think it can be enjoyed by anyone, I think women will particularly be able to relate to the themes it covers, and the way it discusses them. If you are someone who finds any discussion of issues like sexual assault or self-harm triggering, or you simply don’t enjoy reading about them, then this book is not for you.
******
beyond rock bottom
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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4 out of 4 stars
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Beyond Rock Bottom is a collection of poetry by Kara Petrovic, where she examines some of her own experiences, in the hope of showing people who have been through something similar that they are not alone. She starts the collection with a trigger warning, as some of the topics she deals with include suicide, mental illness, and sexual assault. And while she does talk about all these things, it is never in a graphic or gratuitous way. Rather, she explores her own encounters, and the effect they have had on her. The book is divided up into four sections, which loosely describe the theme of the poems they contain: For the Ones Who Did Not Love Me, For When Love Is Not Enough, For When I Did Not Love Myself and For Love Itself. This helps add a sense of narrative and structure to the book.
The author uses powerful imagery throughout the collection. In one particular poem, "On Refunds," she describes a book of someone’s thoughts about her as merely being “a cover, a back, and a single blank page.” In another poem, "On Thorns," she says “I sew my lips into a smile and you tell me it’s the prettiest I’ve ever been.” By using these unusual descriptions, Petrovic manages to convey how she’s feeling in a very visceral way, while also creating very striking images. A line that particularly resonates with me is the line “I was never suited for domesticity. I burn all I cook and stain my clothes pink.” This desire not to be confined to traditional definitions of womanhood is something that I find incredibly powerful. While none of the poems in this collection are particularly difficult to understand, and some of the metaphors may seem a bit obvious, it is this very simplicity that makes the collection so easy to consume and relate to.
I was unable to pick one favourite poem from the collection, so I settled on two. The first one is called "Of The Flowers." To me at least, it seems to describe a destructive relationship, through the metaphor of plucking petals from a flower. The poem sums up how even when you know you are engaging in destructive behaviour, it can sometimes be impossible to stop. It is one of the shorter poems in the collection, and I love how it manages to succinctly capture a very particular experience. The second poem I love is "Little Wolves," where Petrovic describes herself as “the opposite of the boy who cried wolf.” As someone who suffers from executive dysfunction, I really feel this powerful description of inaction in the face of suffering. Petrovic creates a powerful allegory by utilising a familiar story and subverting it. While both of these poems deal with similar themes, they do so in very different ways, and they both resonate deeply with me.
While I really like this book overall, I did feel that some of the poems were a little repetitive at times. I think this is a collection to be perused at leisure, dipped in and out of, rather than consumed in one sitting. It was incredibly well formatted and edited, and I did not notice any errors. The only other criticism I have is that while it is all well and good that the author hopes to show people there is someone out there like them, I feel this is not enough. I think it might have been good to have a list of resources at the back of the book, perhaps in the form of either websites or phone numbers, where people could access help if they were affected by any of the issues mentioned.
Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars, as it deals with very serious themes in a way that is simple but powerful at the same time. I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of modern poetry, particularly free verse. While I think it can be enjoyed by anyone, I think women will particularly be able to relate to the themes it covers, and the way it discusses them. If you are someone who finds any discussion of issues like sexual assault or self-harm triggering, or you simply don’t enjoy reading about them, then this book is not for you.
******
beyond rock bottom
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like meadhbh's review? Post a comment saying so!
Absolutly great review.