Official Review: Horizon Cow by Refried Bean

Noosh · Post by **Noosh** » 29 Nov 2019, 01:58

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Horizon Cow" by Refried Bean.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Horizon Cow is a collection of, for lack of a better word, weird poems. I mean, how often do you get to read a poem about pet whales, or spinach in your teeth, or drug dogs? Not that often, I’m sure. But if you'd like this kind of poetry or have been looking for it, then Horizon Cow is your book. It contains two collections: Poetry Sandwich and I Like Donuts.

First of all, I want to very gleefully point out that the author’s name is Refried Beans, which is a rather unusual yet fun pen name. Secondly, I need to point out that this book of poetry is not your everyday run of the mill collection. So, if you’re looking for a traditional form of poetry and have traditional expectations, I suggest you stay away from Horizon Cow unless you’re open to new experiences.

I’m not sure I can call them “poems” per se since most of them are so short that they seem like an idea, and some of them are long and prose-like. That’s a bit odd. However, some of them are actually very funny, so much so that you can’t help but laugh out loud. On the other hand, some of them are outright boring. Some make sense and are amazing, like “Irony,” while others make no sense at all. One important thing to keep in mind is that we’re talking about poetry, so most probably, my ideas on this book can be considered as subjective and personal. I had difficulty connecting with most of the poems in this book.

An issue that often appears in the book is the inconsistency of using capital letters in the title of poems. For example, some of the titles are this way, “I am thinking about making some cupcakes,” while others are like this, “A Philosophical Discussion About Good Deeds.” Refried Beans forgets to apply the capitalization rule properly. Other than that, I didn’t notice any punctuation or other grammatical errors in the book.

And lastly, I think I should mention that suddenly, in the middle of the book, we have an abrupt pause, where we are shown the author’s picture and a note on where she lives before the second collection begins. I wasn't really a fan of that part. I believe the best place for photos and notes like that is the end of a book.

Aside from the capitalization errors, I didn't notice any other kind of mistakes in the book. If I were to consider my own personal enjoyment of the book, I would have probably given the book 1 star. However, trying to be objective, I'm going to give Horizon Cow by Refried Beans 2 out of 4 stars.

I do recommend this book to young readers. They will probably have fun reading these poems. People who enjoy comedy and have a certain sense of humor will also enjoy Horizon Cow.

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Horizon Cow
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Miller56 · Post by **Miller56** » 12 Dec 2019, 16:17

I really am not a big fan of poetry so I don't think I would enjoy this book. Thanks for the review though.

MsH2k · Post by **MsH2k** » 13 Dec 2019, 00:33

The author’s pen name is quite interesting, and the book cover is fun, too. I wouldn’t mind checking out this book. Thank you for your review!

Noosh · Post by **Noosh** » 14 Dec 2019, 22:17

MsH2k wrote: ↑13 Dec 2019, 00:33 The author’s pen name is quite interesting, and the book cover is fun, too. I wouldn’t mind checking out this book. Thank you for your review!

Hope you have fun reading it