Review by Library Journal Review
Ranging from the sublime to the simplistic, Rudman's 11th collection is an uneasy blend of poetry and memoir, as well as a companion volume to Rider, an elegy for his rabbi stepfather. Herein the poet essentially offers an elegiac reminiscence of his relationship with his mother: a son converses with his deceased mother about their shared past, covering everything from his childhood-school days, summer camp, parents' dysfunctional relationship-to his adolescence and adulthood. As he talks, he doesn't try to resolve issues so much as arrive at a "new order of candor." With echoes of Wallace Stevens and T.S. Eliot, the book contains both long, chatty poems, some written as dialogs, and short, tightly packed prose poems. At its worst, this is a volume of prosaic verse and narratives whose story lines are often confusing, especially when the characters' voices become indistinguishable from each other. At its best, the book captures the rugged terrain between mother and son-land mines and all. Suitable for larger public libraries.-Diane Scharper, Towson Univ., Baltimore (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Library Journal Review
