Book description
Jill Mceldowney's Otherlight plunges us into the rarefied limbo of grief. Suspended in time, in action, in ice, its speaker is halfway out the door of this world-is half-turned to follow the beloved who hovers, conjured, just at the edges of these pages. Otherlight's iconoclasm is arresting and terrifying; it…
Why read it?
1 author picked Otherlight as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This is a poetry collection with story-like cohesion. The poems touch on topics like addiction, lost love, death, selfishness, and grief. They give an atmosphere of stark therapy, a smell of ozone and psych drugs, and indulgences of the self-sabotaging variety that are sometimes the only realistic way to cope.
Though it sounds dark, the mood of the book is ultimately hopeful and enduring. This is a journey through a barren, unadorned land with a frank and aloof guide. But think of icy cliffs, think of the calm after storms: there is beauty in bleakness and clarity among the wreckage.
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On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
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