I’m going to have to give this 25 out of a 100.
I was worried about talking too poorly on this book because it’s not fun to try to rip apart someone who is just trying to launch their first book. There is a fear that the first review an author ever read will be my own, and if I speak to poorly of their writing it could really hurt. Quickly looking into Wilder, however, I find she has a 400k+ following and I won’t even be on her radar. This takes a lot of pressure off of me on trying to be too nice about this Poetry Book Nocturnal.
The entire theme of this book is self love, with undertones of “date me”. Ouph. It’s like a really bad Tinder profile that you read for an hour. What bothers me even more, is how much these seems to resonate with its audience. That makes this blisteringly clear, I am not the target audience, and if you are a thirty year old man who reads a book a day, avoid this book. I think a more seasoned writer would have notice the signs- the heavy use of water color art on each page, the chalky feeling of the outside cover, the poorly categorized appendix.
This book is probably best for people who relate with a need for self love heavily. Also, probably a female demographic but anyone with this mindset who can relate will probably “get it”.
I felt extremely confused through much of the book. In terms of writing devices, there were very few, and most of the writing style felt very disconnected. I didn’t feel like there was a single author discussing her feelings, growing as a person, or even slowly attaining self love. It could have been a compendium by 100 different authors. Almost all the i’s were lower case- a high school cliche of low self esteem, and often times poems would end with a hypen, and then one to three words. Was this the title? The subject matter? A reference or a feeling? I’m unsure. This felt like it was meant to be opened to a random page, read a single poem, and be satisfied with the over arching theme. This didn’t feel like it was for people who actively read.
Wilder spells colour with a u – is she British? Why doesn’t she use this British convention everywhere it should work? I felt so confused. I’m not going to do deep research on her nativity, I want to be able to feel who she is through her works.
I’m not sure where each of the 4 sections begins and ends, sometimes its a little clear but mostly not. I think section IV straight tells you, but II through III in particular bled together. Though the poetry all bred together- I give this as an example poem that could fit anywhere in the book.
“i don’t like myself
i plant some seeds
flowers will grow here eventually
will you please pick them
-david”
This can actually be safely inserted into any part of the book and it will not feel out of place or unfitting. The above poem is almost the entire book. Page 108 offers the first real change, which is mostly a format change – regular – all caps- regular -italic -regular.
The one interconnected part of the book occurs at page 125- where she mentions a red flag- she mentioned rose tinted glasses in part I. This book is mostly a high school level production ( or targeting people who are reading at that level) with all the same clichés of crossing out a word to update it and all the hitting you over the head with its lack of subtly messaging you’d expect. I’d skip this book, unless you want to give it to a teen who doesn’t read who is having self acceptance issues. Again, this is a 25 out of 100.
