Official Review: 4 Rms w Vu by Susana H. Case

[kismoody]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "4 Rms w Vu" by Susana H. Case.]

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“4 Rms w Vu” is a book of contemporary poems written by Susana H. Case about different relationships in her as well as in life in general. She uses the metaphorical, unconventional floor plan of a New York Apartment building to show readers that we are not bystanders in our lives or others. That, as long as we remember our loved ones nothing is really lost. She addresses poems to husbands, lovers, and parents. In doing so, she expresses the details of daily life and wonderings about the future and shows how they weave together endlessly. As the poems unfold, Susana causes the reader to meditate with her not only of the beauty of life, but the hard, tough parts of life as well such as death, mental health problems, relationship problems, etc. The poems are a vehicle to voice her opinions in generally quite literal ways and while I don’t necessarily agree with all of her opinions, a number of the issues raised will likely stick with me for a long time to come.

The book is divided into four chapters, each showing a different part of life. Room one looks at how the saddest moments in life can bring you close to those you love. Room two shows how life can get messed up and how people you love can either hurt you or help you, but will always leave a lasting impression. Section three looks at how not everything is what it seems and how love can be blind. Most importantly, that not all relationships are healthy. Lastly, section four is about death, how it affects and transforms us, and how we are forever changed. a far more metaphysical in nature, as it considers ways in which the world might become a better place.

The poems read a bit like a stream of consciousness or perhaps the somewhat disconnected notes of an artist. Some of the poems seem to fit together, but you have to reread them a couple of times to catch on. Each one, however, makes you think and redissect everything you know about life. There isn’t any rhyming scheme, but the lyrical language has a unique poetic flow to it. The depth and emotional nature of the poems is beautifully expressed and easily draws the reader into the author’s poems/world. The title of the collection and the poem divisions of themselves makes the reader fill like their on the outside looking in, taking a deeper look at no only the author’s life, but theirs and others as well.

The second section is possibly my favourite as in this section there is a poem called “In the Hospital” in which the reader gets a glimpse of the beauty as well as the horror of humanity. The section itself shows the reader how one decision can save a life or destroy it. She writes one particular line “Laura on the roof, five months pregnant-just found out; worked up the nerve to toss herself off.” If that line wasn’t morbid/striking enough, while this is all happening, a huge party full of high teenagers is going on right downstairs. It struck me that would things have been different if someone had been paying attention. The author also, in the next poem, talks about a girl who killed her baby, got depressed, ran out of the institution, and was hit/saved by the author and her husband driving by in a car. With these two poems and the other poems in this section, the author captured one of the toughest aspects of life with tenacity and uniqueness. She doesn’t judge or condemn the various actions she witnessed, but gives the reader a chance to dissect t for themselves.

I rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. The quality of writing is fantastic and the poems are vividly written and pushes the reader to think outside the box. Although the connections between each poem can be hard to follow, the poetry is phe

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