I need not introduce who Rupi Kaur is! This wordsmith has taken the internet by storm with the strength of her words and her talent. I was absolutely clueless why the hullabaloo about Rupi Kaur’s debut poetry book. With controversies galore, this book made it to my TBR. After having relished it, I realize why the hullabaloo.
So without much ado, let’s get into the review of this book.
The book is divided into four themes namely, the hurting, the loving, the breaking, the healing. Here we can see the balance the author has tried to maintain.
The hurting has some absolutely hurtful and sentimental poems. Poetess is quite verbose about the hurt, being hurt and hurting.
trying to convince myself
i am allowed
to take up space
is like writing with
my left hand
when i was born
to use my right
our knees
pried open
by cousins
and uncles
and men
our bodies touched
by all the wrong people
that even in a bed full of safety
we are afraid
The loving part is mild and dipped in honey. It is beautiful the way the author has amalgamated natural elements and the emotion of love.
my favorite thing about you is your smell
you smell like
earth
herbs
gardens
a little more
human than the rest of us
you’ve touched me
without even
touching me
how do you turn
a forest fire like me
so soft i turn into
running water
The breaking is more like hurting however it is also about realization which leaves you broken.
don’t mistake
salt for sugar
if he wants to
be with you
he will
it’s that simple
more than anything
i want to save you
from myself
The healing has many inspiring work by Kaur. It is one part that I fell in love with.
the thing about writing is
i can’t tell if it’s healing
or destroying me
I found some of the poems quite raw and savage. The poetess is explicit in conveying her thoughts and is comfortable with the nakedness of language and of the words used. For instance, “you have spent enough nights
with his manhood curled inside your legs
to forget what loneliness feels like.”
Sometimes her words are heart peircing and sharp like a butcher’s knife.
i didn’t leave because
i stopped loving you
i left because the longer
i stayed the less
i loved myself
In some cases she is succinct yet sweet.
i am a museum full of art
but you had your eyes shut
She handles all the emotions subtly but the words are so raw that they stay with you for a long time.
people go
but how
they left
always stays
Sometimes she is crude and realistic.
i am water
soft enough
to offer life
tough enough
to drown it away
And there are many instances when she makes you ponder.
you leave
but you don’t stay gone
why do you do that
why do you
abandon the thing you want to keep
why do you linger
in a place you do not want to stay
why do you think it’s okay to do both
go and return all at once
She gives away lessons without giving away too much.
the way they
leave
tells you
everything
at the end of the day all this
means nothing
this page
where you’re sitting
your degree
your job
the money
nothing even matters
except love and human connection
She shames body shaming with subtlety and makes us fall in love with our body!
accept yourself
as you were designed
The book is peppered with pictures of vagina, of naked figures embracing, of a man going down on woman, it is unusual to find such pictures. It is so open yet casual yet evoking uncanny emotions.
And she signs off with a heartwarming acknowledgement letter for her readers which brought a smile to my face.
Overall, it was a good read. The healing part was more feel good and turned out to be my favourite.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publishers: Andrews McMeel
Available: Amazon, Flipkart, In-store
#HappyReading
I really liked her book which I accidentally picked up in a bookstore. Now I wouldn’t say this is a perfect piece of poetry or literature for that matter but it’s just something that strikes a chord with your heart and you can go back to those pages whenever you feel low.
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Looks like quite an unusual read and very thought provoking.
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Wow how meaningful these lines are. Sounds so good. I am not much into poetry nowadays but will recommend tbis book to those who are.
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That’s a interesting read. Not into reading but this one looks interesting would love to read.
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Loved to read the beautiful verses you narrated in the post, seems a catchy read, shall get my copy soon.
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I have been seeing lines from Rupi Pair’s book everywhere on social media. I really want to get my hands on this one. My favourite lines are ‘I’m water – Soft enough to offer life and tough enough to drown it away!’.
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Quite a unique read! And very thought-provoking too. The author seems to be conveying a deep message.
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Truthfully I haven’t heard about this author till I read this post. I probably don’t read as much as I want to hence not familiar with her work. But I absolutely loved reading those few lines of poetry and look forward to reading more of her work.
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Rupi Kaur is one of the finest writers out there! I definitely got to give it a try for her! Thanks for the review Siddhi! 💖
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I hadn’t heard of this book, may be Coz I am not keeping my eyes open so much about current literary scene. But the lines you have picked are quite raw and strike hard somewhere. If the whole book is like this, which I am guessing it is. Then it will be a good read for some soul searching time.
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