Implausible but laudable.
A far-fetched book of poetry that nonetheless delivers a valuable message of consolation to those who have lost loved ones.
In order to take seriously the poetry in Better World, one must get past its outlandish premise–one of its authors, Ricardo Petrillo, is dead, and the other, his father Claudio, "channels" his son’s verse from beyond the grave. Ricardo died in 2005, and an earlier volume of his posthumous work, Eternal Bonds of Love (2008), tells of his demise and his first after-death experiences. Better World, by contrast, is not quite so biographical, and it takes as one of its models Dante’s Divine Comedy. In that cornerstone of Italian literature, Dante is led through the afterlife–hell, purgatory and heaven–by two spirits who take him on a journey of dramatic spiritual growth. Similarly, Ricardo takes his parents to other dimensions, where they see souls being purified of their misdeeds. But this is no Inferno, where graphic punishment is doled out with malicious glee–the afterlife is rather understood as a place where one wins a purifying self-knowledge. This is a comforting thought, not only for bereft parents but for everyone. The poetry Claudio "receives" often reads like prose. It is unclear, for instance, why the following passage from "Students and Teachers" needs line breaks such as, "The coming out of darkness / Is always blissful / And for that we felt grateful / Even though we’re just beginning / To see the first rays of light." Ricardo might do better to "send" his next book in prose poetry, à la John Ashbery. Whether you believe that these poems are "channeled" from an afterlife or are instead the highly literate coping mechanism of aggrieved parents, one thing is clear–just as his mother and father hoped, "something good" has come from Ricardo’s death.
Implausible but laudable.Pub Date: June 19, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4392-3281-1
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
