Official Review: beyond rock bottom by Kara Petrovic

[meadhbh]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "beyond rock bottom" by Kara Petrovic.]

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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.

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beyond rock bottom
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Like meadhbh's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Nimat87]

Thanks for the engaging and well written review! Addressing salient issues effectively using poetry is really commendable. I appreciate the simplicity of the collection too. I'm already in love with this.

[anwidmer]

I can already find myself relating to the author through your excellent review. The quote about domesticity is what grabbed my attention the most. Adding to my TBR

[Cecilia_L]

I appreciate thought provoking poetry, and from your review, it sounds as if the author has done a good job of conveying imporant topics through her work. Thanks for the in-depth review.

[anwidmer]

The title alone intrigues me as ive experianced my own "rock bottom". And everyone has a different perspective of what that is. Also a different story and path for getting there. Im still very interested in reading her poetry

[meadhbh]

Thanks for the engaging and well written review! Addressing salient issues effectively using poetry is really commendable. I appreciate the simplicity of the collection too. I'm already in love with this.

I think all literature, but poetry, in particular, can do a really good job of helping understand the perspective of someone different than you. Definitely give it a read!

[meadhbh]

I can already find myself relating to the author through your excellent review. The quote about domesticity is what grabbed my attention the most. Adding to my TBR

Thank you! That was the one line that really struck me the most out of the whole collection. Most of the time the author's experiences were very different from my own but that one I was just like wow, yes.

[meadhbh]

I appreciate thought provoking poetry, and from your review, it sounds as if the author has done a good job of conveying imporant topics through her work. Thanks for the in-depth review.

Definitely! Although it is very much about the author's personal experiences with these issues, rather than necessarily commentary on the issues in society at large.

[meadhbh]

The title alone intrigues me as ive experianced my own "rock bottom". And everyone has a different perspective of what that is. Also a different story and path for getting there. Im still very interested in reading her poetry

I think this collection would be particularly powerful for someone who's had similar experiences to the author, whether that's the specific things she has gone through or just generally feeling like you've reached rock bottom. I really recommend it!

[anwidmer]

The title alone intrigues me as ive experianced my own "rock bottom". And everyone has a different perspective of what that is. Also a different story and path for getting there. Im still very interested in reading her poetry

I think this collection would be particularly powerful for someone who's had similar experiences to the author, whether that's the specific things she has gone through or just generally feeling like you've reached rock bottom. I really recommend it!

I agree, would you agree it is one to be read here and there. As opposed to in one sitting? I think i would try to read just some but end up reading the whole thing if its that relatable to my own past life.

[meadhbh]

The title alone intrigues me as ive experianced my own "rock bottom". And everyone has a different perspective of what that is. Also a different story and path for getting there. Im still very interested in reading her poetry

I think this collection would be particularly powerful for someone who's had similar experiences to the author, whether that's the specific things she has gone through or just generally feeling like you've reached rock bottom. I really recommend it!

I agree, would you agree it is one to be read here and there. As opposed to in one sitting? I think i would try to read just some but end up reading the whole thing if its that relatable to my own past life.

I think you could probably do either! For me, I think it suits better to dip in and out as it allows me to think about some of the ideas a bit deeper. But definitely if you find it so relatable, it could be read in one sitting.

[Mclain]

Absolutly great review.
I will definately be reading this book soon.

[Nmesoma]

“I was never suited for domesticity. I burn all I cook and stain my clothes pink.” LOVE IT! Great and awesome review, I love how you described the book while embodying the authors poetic nature into the review.

[Espie]

Thank you for your great review. I haven't had the chance of reading a book like this before (except for mandatory school readings) but it doesn't mean I don't appreciate thought-provoking and lyrical poetry. With what you convincingly wrote, I may even consider to go even further.

[Samantha Simoneau]

Wonderful review! I was impressed by the excerpts you chose to include and I agree that there should be contact information or resources listed at the end for the sake of people who may require support or intervention. Your engaging review also led to my Googling "executive dysfunction," which, prior to reading this, I knew nothing about. Thanks for the book recommendation and the surprise education!