7/10
This book is a collection of poems penned by Lynn Crosbie as a reflection upon her father’s frontotemporal dementia and blindness, following a stroke. The poems are in chronological order, much as they were in Overcast Mind, but in this case I felt that this strategy was more effective, since Crosbie is telling a story using poetry, rather than simply writing poems.
The collection is dark, touching not only on Crosbie’s father’s illness, but also on her own struggles with depression. But regardless of the sorrowful tone, the writing is still humorous and honest. It’s hard to relate to Crosbie’s exact circumstances, but it’s easy to empathize with Crosbie’s goal to create a tribute for her father, even though he will never read it.
Each poem is lovely, but the collection is what actually makes this a work of art. My only regret is that I read it straight through, rather than reading and enjoying each poem on its own, but oh well.
Not much else to say about this, except that if you pick up your own copy be prepared for many, many French phrases within the poems that either need translated or skipped as casualties of reading more quickly.
Cheese Can Read? 