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What She Felt #1
She Felt Like Feeling Nothing (Volume 1)
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Poetry (2018)From the bestselling author of the Whiskey, Words, and a Shovel series comes this poetic reminder of women's strength.
There are moments when the heart no longer wishes to feel because everything it's felt up until then has brought it nothing but anguish. In She Felt Like Feeling Nothing, r.h. Sin pursues themes of self-discovery and retrospection. With this book, the poet intends to create a safe space where women can rest their weary hearts and focus on themselves.
There are moments when the heart no longer wishes to feel because everything it's felt up until then has brought it nothing but anguish. In She Felt Like Feeling Nothing, r.h. Sin pursues themes of self-discovery and retrospection. With this book, the poet intends to create a safe space where women can rest their weary hearts and focus on themselves.
144 pages, Paperback
First published April 10, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 874 reviews
October 1, 2020
At about page 30,
I started skimming through
the rest of this collection.
By the end of it,
I could not find any
s u b s t a n t i a l
p o e t r y .
The so-called hymms
were really just
one-sentenced man-splaining
expressed in
a e s t h e t i c s .
Pseudo-intellectual
pseudo-inspirational
pseudo-feminist
content so generic (and
more than occasionally
problematic) that
I am genuinely astounded
this author has not been
sued by every pharmaceutical
drug store out there.
J e s u s
C h r i s t .
Reading this felt like
going through a series of
poorly written and
equally poorly edited
self-help books
full of quotes that leave readers
e m p t y - h a n d e d .
In all honesty,
I found more entertainment
in the 1-star reviews
of this book
than the book itself.
If I were tasked to rename this heap
of drivel, I'd call it:
She He Felt Like
W r i t i n g
N o t h i n g .
P.S.
R.H. Sin is a cis man
and the idea of a cis man
writing women's experiences
from the perspective of a "woman" is
so icky and so gross;
a woman's voice is not theirs to take
and is not theirs to profit from.
I'm angry and I
won't apologize for it.
Instead of reading this book,
please support
poetry written by real
w o m e n .
----------------
Note (04/11/18):
I've been told that my review doesn't sufficiently explain my thoughts on this collection. In which case, here's a condensed list of what my poem was trying to say:
1. The pieces in She Felt Like Feeling Nothing are repeatedly repackaged content or reiterations of the same messages/points.
2. This collection tries to be uplifting, insightful and empowering to women. However, as I've mentioned in the poem, it's pseudo-inspirational, pseudo-intellectual, and pseudo-feminist. Why? Because women are described as special manic pixie dream girls. Because this book lures readers into a false security of allyship when, in fact, the author is just man-splaining on how women should act and should value themselves.
3. There didn't seem to be much thought in the form and structure of the poems outside of fulfilling the need for aesthetics. (You can refer to my poem to have an idea of how the poems are structured.)
4. The author tries to write in a woman's perspective and spectacularly fails in doing so. The content of this collection is shallow, agonizingly repetitive, full of cliches, and severely lacks nuance.
5. All in all, I cannot support nor respect a person who exploits the struggles of a marginalized community and profits from assuming their voices and writing about experiences that aren't his to talk about. As I've said: A woman's voice isn't for a cis man to take and is not his to profit from.
Quick disclosure: I received a digital copy of She Felt Like Feeling Nothing (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
Actual rating: 0 stars
🌻🍃 More bookish content on Shut up, Shealea 🍃🌻
instagram • pinterest • twitter
I started skimming through
the rest of this collection.
By the end of it,
I could not find any
s u b s t a n t i a l
p o e t r y .
The so-called hymms
were really just
one-sentenced man-splaining
expressed in
a e s t h e t i c s .
Pseudo-intellectual
pseudo-inspirational
pseudo-feminist
content so generic (and
more than occasionally
problematic) that
I am genuinely astounded
this author has not been
sued by every pharmaceutical
drug store out there.
J e s u s
C h r i s t .
Reading this felt like
going through a series of
poorly written and
equally poorly edited
self-help books
full of quotes that leave readers
e m p t y - h a n d e d .
In all honesty,
I found more entertainment
in the 1-star reviews
of this book
than the book itself.
If I were tasked to rename this heap
of drivel, I'd call it:
W r i t i n g
N o t h i n g .
P.S.
R.H. Sin is a cis man
and the idea of a cis man
writing women's experiences
from the perspective of a "woman" is
so icky and so gross;
a woman's voice is not theirs to take
and is not theirs to profit from.
I'm angry and I
won't apologize for it.
Instead of reading this book,
please support
poetry written by real
w o m e n .
----------------
Note (04/11/18):
I've been told that my review doesn't sufficiently explain my thoughts on this collection. In which case, here's a condensed list of what my poem was trying to say:
1. The pieces in She Felt Like Feeling Nothing are repeatedly repackaged content or reiterations of the same messages/points.
2. This collection tries to be uplifting, insightful and empowering to women. However, as I've mentioned in the poem, it's pseudo-inspirational, pseudo-intellectual, and pseudo-feminist. Why? Because women are described as special manic pixie dream girls. Because this book lures readers into a false security of allyship when, in fact, the author is just man-splaining on how women should act and should value themselves.
3. There didn't seem to be much thought in the form and structure of the poems outside of fulfilling the need for aesthetics. (You can refer to my poem to have an idea of how the poems are structured.)
4. The author tries to write in a woman's perspective and spectacularly fails in doing so. The content of this collection is shallow, agonizingly repetitive, full of cliches, and severely lacks nuance.
5. All in all, I cannot support nor respect a person who exploits the struggles of a marginalized community and profits from assuming their voices and writing about experiences that aren't his to talk about. As I've said: A woman's voice isn't for a cis man to take and is not his to profit from.
Quick disclosure: I received a digital copy of She Felt Like Feeling Nothing (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
Actual rating: 0 stars
🌻🍃 More bookish content on Shut up, Shealea 🍃🌻
instagram • pinterest • twitter
March 18, 2018
2 “The message was powerful.” Stars
WARNING: it may be triggering for people who are or had been in an abusive relationship.
Disclaimer: Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
the message was powerful
until the poems started
being quotes.
i felt i was reading a self-help book
full of inspirational messages
and sometimes the voice of that annoying workout trainer
“snap snap you are worth more”
honestly, some poems were
one line long
if you are a punctuation worshipper
then please stand 100 feet away
if you are a fan of the correct use of caps
then please stand 100000 feet away
as a very amateur poetry writer
i sometimes use the modern technique
of using
breaks
and not
punctuation
but it just really didn’t work with me.
if you are a poetry hoarder
who loves to analyze the words
to get the hidden
meaning
then stand infinite feet away
this is pretty straightforward.
i do appreciate the message
it talks about self-worth
and self-love
and how we need to break from
abusive relationships
how attractive exterior can be misleading
but although the theme was maintained
it felt d i s c o n e c t e d
but apart from that
i liked the few extensive poems
I am disappointed. I am not gonna hide it, I bleed feelings in the first 5 pages, but then I start bleeding disappointment.
“what happened to your soul
i see the bruises and the scars
he never deserved to touch your canvas
how’d you forget you are art”
WARNING: it may be triggering for people who are or had been in an abusive relationship.
Disclaimer: Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
the message was powerful
until the poems started
being quotes.
i felt i was reading a self-help book
full of inspirational messages
and sometimes the voice of that annoying workout trainer
“snap snap you are worth more”
honestly, some poems were
one line long
if you are a punctuation worshipper
then please stand 100 feet away
if you are a fan of the correct use of caps
then please stand 100000 feet away
as a very amateur poetry writer
i sometimes use the modern technique
of using
breaks
and not
punctuation
but it just really didn’t work with me.
if you are a poetry hoarder
who loves to analyze the words
to get the hidden
meaning
then stand infinite feet away
this is pretty straightforward.
i do appreciate the message
it talks about self-worth
and self-love
and how we need to break from
abusive relationships
how attractive exterior can be misleading
but although the theme was maintained
it felt d i s c o n e c t e d
but apart from that
i liked the few extensive poems
I am disappointed. I am not gonna hide it, I bleed feelings in the first 5 pages, but then I start bleeding disappointment.
February 7, 2018
This is another book in the recent genre I'm calling "Platitudes, NOT POETRY." I get that it's tough being a young person, dealing with finding love, etc. But that is not enough! Where is the musicality of the language? Where is the art made with words? Where is the creativity, originality? Simply typing sentence fragments about emotions IS NOT POETRY! This is juvenile. And honestly, I'm really disheartened that I've read so many "poetry" books like this lately, and that they're popular - you can do BETTER than this, publishers. We SHOULD demand better than this, readers. Come on!
*Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, provided by the author and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
*Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, provided by the author and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
August 19, 2020
reread: may 10, 2018
3.75 stars
Was craving some R.H. Sin in my life so decided to give this one a re-read.
Liked it slightly more then the first time but my opinions are still the same.
-------------------------------------------------
first read: march 26, 2018
3.5 stars
I was sent this by Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
As most of you know already, I am a HUGE R.H. Sin fan and I love his work. Though I do have to say this is not my favourite by him. I have similar feelings with this one as I did with Algedonic, it was good but not amazing. I would still recommend this collection though as it does have a different tone compared to his other collections.
3.75 stars
Was craving some R.H. Sin in my life so decided to give this one a re-read.
Liked it slightly more then the first time but my opinions are still the same.
-------------------------------------------------
first read: march 26, 2018
3.5 stars
I was sent this by Andrews McMeel Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
As most of you know already, I am a HUGE R.H. Sin fan and I love his work. Though I do have to say this is not my favourite by him. I have similar feelings with this one as I did with Algedonic, it was good but not amazing. I would still recommend this collection though as it does have a different tone compared to his other collections.
June 15, 2021
Needed this.
September 5, 2025
Maybe this would've hit when I was heartbroken in high school/early college, but nowadays I can recognize how redundant & mediocre this writing is
May 15, 2020
Instagram poetry does not translate to the printed page, and this publication is another shining example of why. As the poet himself says:
"How easy it is//to become a poet//between the hours//of midnight//and 3 in the morning".
Easy, indeed. This book is filled with motivational speeches and truisms, with line breaks to make them "poems". In the first half, the unrelenting "you" address insinuating that the reader is looking for healing in this collection and that the poet is there for them, understanding, bugged the everliving crap out of me. The metatextual remarks made it worse.
Furthermore, I couldn't help but be annoyed at these lines that seem to suggest mental illness is for the weak:
"She had always been//the one strong enough//to save her own soul//from the pits of depression".
There were, all in all, three poems that I did like, touching upon difficult family relations and the media-influenced image of love especially teenagers have to deal with.
Yet another "poetry" collection that, in my opinion, does not deserve that classification.
"How easy it is//to become a poet//between the hours//of midnight//and 3 in the morning".
Easy, indeed. This book is filled with motivational speeches and truisms, with line breaks to make them "poems". In the first half, the unrelenting "you" address insinuating that the reader is looking for healing in this collection and that the poet is there for them, understanding, bugged the everliving crap out of me. The metatextual remarks made it worse.
Furthermore, I couldn't help but be annoyed at these lines that seem to suggest mental illness is for the weak:
"She had always been//the one strong enough//to save her own soul//from the pits of depression".
There were, all in all, three poems that I did like, touching upon difficult family relations and the media-influenced image of love especially teenagers have to deal with.
Yet another "poetry" collection that, in my opinion, does not deserve that classification.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 16, 2022
I really really liked this! Made me cry a couple of times because of how much I related.
March 6, 2024
* ੈ✩‧₊˚ 3 stars
“in you
are poems
that aren’t meant
to be read by everyone”
•
“do you even know how beautiful you are
how the stars envy you
full of a light that shines through darkness
full of life in the dead of night”
•
“if you want to taste
the universe
just kiss her”
“in you
are poems
that aren’t meant
to be read by everyone”
•
“do you even know how beautiful you are
how the stars envy you
full of a light that shines through darkness
full of life in the dead of night”
•
“if you want to taste
the universe
just kiss her”
June 3, 2019
there is beauty in simplicity and this is what Sin shows in this collection of poems. Liked the delicate pattern of a thought revealing the grey projection of encapsulated echoes of the voice of a heart trapped among lifes’s mountains of 'nothingness'.
"Who were you
Before you decided
To let world
Dictate who’d become
....the heart collapses into itself
Filling the void with more emptiness
...
In you
Are poems
That aren’t meant
To be read by everyone"
"Who were you
Before you decided
To let world
Dictate who’d become
....the heart collapses into itself
Filling the void with more emptiness
...
In you
Are poems
That aren’t meant
To be read by everyone"
December 24, 2020
"She realized that wanting him
meant losing herself"
Me gusto mucho pero supongo que es por las grandes vibes de la era 1989 de Taylor que me da. Son poemas sencillos, que pude haber escrito yo o vos pero en fin son poemas que a mi me gustaron y en donde, en algunos, me sentí identificada.
meant losing herself"
Me gusto mucho pero supongo que es por las grandes vibes de la era 1989 de Taylor que me da. Son poemas sencillos, que pude haber escrito yo o vos pero en fin son poemas que a mi me gustaron y en donde, en algunos, me sentí identificada.
November 28, 2020
2.5* All the poems felt very similar to me and pretty generic. The poems were basic “complaining about men, we’re too good for them” stuff, but it comes from a male author?
January 17, 2025
LOVED IT!!! 😍
July 4, 2018
scene nineteen.
in you
are poems
that aren’t meant
to be read by everyone
—
i honestly didn't
care much for this
one
this was centred around
a theme that Sin
writes a lot about,
a really
important message
but it was really hard to
connect with any of
the poems and pardon
me, but i hate detached
poetry
there was also
an abundant
amount of unnecessary
line breaks or
lack of so it was confusing at times so
i just can't help writing
my next few reviews
of his books like
this
there was not really
wordplay or writing style that
passed it off as poetry
and where
was the creativity?
another thing, throughout
his collections, this one and
others, i've been looking for
originality
and fell short on
that.
the poems were
the same
the next piece just
a very very very
close variation
of the piece
before
i'm sorry
but there's nothing
left for me to say
except that it
was okay and quite
disappointing
November falls into winter.
beneath the chill in my soul
and the overcrowding of my mind is a heart that is both afraid and willing to be loved
January 15, 2021
This was way too Twitterish/bloggerish.
July 9, 2018
i'm not trying to be mean but like. we already have rupi kaur and she's better at this? and she's already in the middling quality range of the self-love break up three sentences to call a poem genre
2.5 stars
2.5 stars
July 1, 2020
SUPPORT WOMEN POETS AND TRUE ALLYS NOT THIS FAKE BS!
Dnf'd so fast! I'm not giving these performative platitudes any stars. Honestly a CIS MAN writing from the perspective of marginalised WOMEN in a show of FAKE ACTIVISM and allyship is something i could never support!
Dnf'd so fast! I'm not giving these performative platitudes any stars. Honestly a CIS MAN writing from the perspective of marginalised WOMEN in a show of FAKE ACTIVISM and allyship is something i could never support!
February 26, 2024
if you want to taste the universe
just kiss her
January 10, 2021
"Save yourself for yourself
right now
Only you deserve you."
SHE FELT LIKE FEELING NOTHING, a collection of poetry by R. H Sin, who tries to convey that you should love yourself more than you love "him", you should not believe when the guy who broke your heart comes back and don't believe his sweet talk and concern he is only bored and horny, in this women centric poem. Women often forgive and forget in love, blindly loving the guy who broke their heart like it's their duty, the poet feels for the broken women and reminds that you don't deserve this, you deserve much better to women.
Women are not a toy to play and it is not the women's fault that, they fall in love with bad boys, poet says that it is the fault of movies , TV and people who picturise that bad boys are lovable. In reality, we should not waste our time on people who never respect us. When a women finally cries in loneliness, no one may come to comfort her or give confidence says the poet and the poet feels how the broken women feels.
The title is apt for the poetry book because the poems are about women who are lost, because of men who doesn't value them and play with their feelings that finally they don't want to feel anything, they just shut down, shut down their hearts so that they no longer have to feel.
"Sometimes you have to let go of certain people
in order to make room
for something beautiful
to enter your life."
right now
Only you deserve you."
SHE FELT LIKE FEELING NOTHING, a collection of poetry by R. H Sin, who tries to convey that you should love yourself more than you love "him", you should not believe when the guy who broke your heart comes back and don't believe his sweet talk and concern he is only bored and horny, in this women centric poem. Women often forgive and forget in love, blindly loving the guy who broke their heart like it's their duty, the poet feels for the broken women and reminds that you don't deserve this, you deserve much better to women.
Women are not a toy to play and it is not the women's fault that, they fall in love with bad boys, poet says that it is the fault of movies , TV and people who picturise that bad boys are lovable. In reality, we should not waste our time on people who never respect us. When a women finally cries in loneliness, no one may come to comfort her or give confidence says the poet and the poet feels how the broken women feels.
The title is apt for the poetry book because the poems are about women who are lost, because of men who doesn't value them and play with their feelings that finally they don't want to feel anything, they just shut down, shut down their hearts so that they no longer have to feel.
"Sometimes you have to let go of certain people
in order to make room
for something beautiful
to enter your life."
![Profile Image for Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1746468325i%2F66224803._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
January 29, 2023
she knows things
she knows so much more
than you realize
noticing it all
and so much of what she sees
has become too much for her heart
[…]
one day she'll let you know
what she knows
and that'll be the day
that she's ready to let go
she knows so much more
than you realize
noticing it all
and so much of what she sees
has become too much for her heart
[…]
one day she'll let you know
what she knows
and that'll be the day
that she's ready to let go
May 12, 2021
my dear
you must learn
to walk away from anyone
who no longer
appreciates your presence
a good heart
with the right love
falling for all
the wrong people
your softness is not a weakness
your kindness is your strength
give all of the things
that they’ve taken for granted
to yourself
because right now
more than anything
you deserve you
it’s time to love yourself
i hope you stop caring
when they do
i hope you walk away
because they will
i hope you know
that you’ll be fine
and they’ll regret
losing a woman like you
March 23, 2018
She Felt Like Feeling Nothing!!! First things first: I received this book through NetGalley.
I read the first few pages and went straight to amazon to put the actual paperback on my wishlist, cause I need this at home.
I'm not saying it's the best and most original stuff I ever read, but I loved it and it made me feel a lot of things. I can't wait to re-read this over and over again.
I read the first few pages and went straight to amazon to put the actual paperback on my wishlist, cause I need this at home.
I'm not saying it's the best and most original stuff I ever read, but I loved it and it made me feel a lot of things. I can't wait to re-read this over and over again.
July 27, 2025
Fearlessly raw!!
Penned by a hand laced with internal scars, r.h.Sin opened her rib cage, allowing the reader to peer inside your soul. I felt a sense of empowerment and gratitude as I closed the cover.
Penned by a hand laced with internal scars, r.h.Sin opened her rib cage, allowing the reader to peer inside your soul. I felt a sense of empowerment and gratitude as I closed the cover.
June 13, 2021
rated 4.8 rounded down.
This work is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. I can't get over it. Definitely going to be picking up more of R.H. Sin's work.
This work is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. I can't get over it. Definitely going to be picking up more of R.H. Sin's work.
August 28, 2025
2.5 ⭐ (I'm being nice)
Idk why I keep giving him a shot with his poetry books bc the first one I read was so forgettable and this one wasn't any better. I guess I never learn 🧚🏻♀️
Idk why I keep giving him a shot with his poetry books bc the first one I read was so forgettable and this one wasn't any better. I guess I never learn 🧚🏻♀️
December 2, 2020
While I was reading this book, I felt nothing o-o. I do find the message of the book to be good but it definitely lacked depth in it and felt repetitive at some point.
April 7, 2019
“she, a rose
she brought herself
to bloom
aperture.
if you want to taste
the universe
just kiss her”
she brought herself
to bloom
aperture.
if you want to taste
the universe
just kiss her”
November 6, 2019
here is a great review about this book. she says everything i wanna say.
people knows, i love poetry, i love every kind of poetry. but i'm against that poets who write like twitter updates with "no poem" in it, all these sentences and words like a from personal development books or tumblr of a teen or an advice for a friend. I felt the same thing in Rupi Kaur's poems but not as much as this one. just because you call them minimal is not make them minimal poetry. but if we call them poetry, there should be difference between guys, should be some art in it,,, metaphors, imagery, harmony, rhythm (im not saying become Shakespeare of 21 century)... i swear there is more 'poetical line' in Cardi B's rap lol. and as much as i can follow contemporary poetry, i realize 'minimal' is not just style or form of poems but also meanings; poets write so clean and naked but that should not be plain and simple. (my favorites from button poetry society, they write more long sentences, and like a monologue). there should be some word games (is this a true use?), they way you tell the story. in this one similitudes are so outmoded...
nothing is original in this book. 'the hymn's are worst. talks of everybody is not poetry.
it's repeating itself. i dont know how many times i've read the same thing in same way and with same words. im not saying similar,,, attention.
especially 'looking/search for something in this book' lines- 3 times irritated me most.
this isn't what i wanted / I thought i needed you / until i realized / that you never deserved me (poem: echoes of ex)
look at this, this is a goddamn text message.
all of pseudo poems like he (first i thought 'she') had a relationship like no getting attention, affection, love, cares, respect, and while or after this relationship, he was inculcating himself, or a friend sedating him. i experienced this, i know how it felt im not heartless bitch but writing words one under the other is not the artful way (always). sharp power of simplicity is smth.
u can ask me how can i be so sure about this, maybe i'm being rude just bc i didn't like it.
how could i ever fall / for someone / too week to catch me / how could i love / someone so empty (poem: asking the night.)
'fall' and 'catch' is something. i dont know English literature art jargon but if there is poetical thing, after 'love', the 'empty' is so wrong- or the exact opposite for 'empty', the 'love' is so wrong.
my poems are interludes of everything / the heart screams
no, not everything a heart screams and not interludes of those screams.
i'm giving u the words u should use if u wanna be a poem: free, she/he, flower, heart, dark, light, moon, sun, self,,,
or just write thousand times: 'you are strong / he doesnt deserve you'.
i'm a depressed freak, i like everything dark, melancholic, sad, etc. and i never be the person who can be positive. so i thought maybe i didn't like bc it's so positive and stay-strong or love-yourself things. and i always say to people who say bad things about depressed books- just bc they're depressed doesn't make them bad or artless, dont do dat, look between the lines. but the more i read, the more i want to dig it. i'm sorry, but this is not poetry. i adore florence welch's songs and the last album was all about 'being broken-hearted but staying strong' and almost all of it like an anthem and i still cant get enough of this album, so the problem is not about me not loving Rh+.
so if you wanna hear powerful, motivational and inspiring quotes, read this book. i hate self-help books but if u are fan, try it. but dont call it poem for the fuck sake.
this review is a non-fiction
xoxoxo
iko
February 11, 2020
1.5 Stars
Originally posted on: The Quirky Book Nerd
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
This is r.h. Sin’s newest collection, and though it was slightly better than Planting Gardens in Graves, it still felt incredibly underwhelming. Once again, my biggest complaint is the repetitiveness of the subject matter. I feel like the more collections I read, the less engaged with the text I become. And I absolutely hate to feel that way because I truly believe Sin could be a good writer and feminist voice.
Rehashing the same topic does not do justice to what skill he might have as a writer, and it overshadows the way he is trying to capture complex emotions in such a short space. I am feeling like less and less heart and substance is being put into these words. His use of the short, simple poems or phrases is feeling even more forced and random—it is not contributing to whatever sincerity or impact he is attempting to convey.
This time around, Sin put in some connection between some of his poems, making a bit of a story out of them. While I absolutely love that idea, the only problem with it was the fact that every poem is essentially the same, just worded differently. In fact, that was the case for the entire collection. The more I read his work, the worse my opinion becomes—mainly because of the predictability subject-wise—but also because it comes across as patronizing and self-absorbed.
While reading his work, I always come to some point where I feel like he’s treating us more like objects or—dare I say it—”mansplaining” our emotions, and even what it’s like to be a woman, to us. These poems feel less like speaking up to empower women and more like Sin bragging about the fact that he thinks he is the best man/partner in the world because he is supposedly the only one who understands absolutely everything about women.
I realize that my reviews of his collections are getting extremely repetitive, but they are reflecting the exact same feeling I’m getting from his work. It is the same condescending, somewhat contradicting, and occasionally crude musings on the same topics in every single collection. He needs to be more unique. We need more of the originality that I believe he could be capable of giving. I am interested in reading his Whisky, Words, and a Shovel trilogy of poetry collections, but going forward, I am not sure that the chance of me picking up any of his future works will be particularly high.
Originally posted on: The Quirky Book Nerd
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
This is r.h. Sin’s newest collection, and though it was slightly better than Planting Gardens in Graves, it still felt incredibly underwhelming. Once again, my biggest complaint is the repetitiveness of the subject matter. I feel like the more collections I read, the less engaged with the text I become. And I absolutely hate to feel that way because I truly believe Sin could be a good writer and feminist voice.
Rehashing the same topic does not do justice to what skill he might have as a writer, and it overshadows the way he is trying to capture complex emotions in such a short space. I am feeling like less and less heart and substance is being put into these words. His use of the short, simple poems or phrases is feeling even more forced and random—it is not contributing to whatever sincerity or impact he is attempting to convey.
This time around, Sin put in some connection between some of his poems, making a bit of a story out of them. While I absolutely love that idea, the only problem with it was the fact that every poem is essentially the same, just worded differently. In fact, that was the case for the entire collection. The more I read his work, the worse my opinion becomes—mainly because of the predictability subject-wise—but also because it comes across as patronizing and self-absorbed.
While reading his work, I always come to some point where I feel like he’s treating us more like objects or—dare I say it—”mansplaining” our emotions, and even what it’s like to be a woman, to us. These poems feel less like speaking up to empower women and more like Sin bragging about the fact that he thinks he is the best man/partner in the world because he is supposedly the only one who understands absolutely everything about women.
I realize that my reviews of his collections are getting extremely repetitive, but they are reflecting the exact same feeling I’m getting from his work. It is the same condescending, somewhat contradicting, and occasionally crude musings on the same topics in every single collection. He needs to be more unique. We need more of the originality that I believe he could be capable of giving. I am interested in reading his Whisky, Words, and a Shovel trilogy of poetry collections, but going forward, I am not sure that the chance of me picking up any of his future works will be particularly high.
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