27/ the sun and her flowers by rupi kaur

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by howto_

by howto_

read: 14.04.18

title: The Sun and her Flowers

author: Rupi Kaur

blurb: From Rupi Kaur, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of milk and honey, comes her long-awaited second collection of poetry. A vibrant and transcendent journey about growth and healing. Ancestry and honouring one's roots. Expatriation and rising up to find a home within yourself.

Divided into five chapters and illustrated by Kaur, the sun and her flowers is a journey of wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and blooming. A celebration of love in all its forms.

review: I looked back at my review of milk and honey before beginning to write this, and I can almost see myself reading that book and truly loving it. I adored milk and honey, it came at a time where that was what I needed. I am left deflated by the sun and her flowers.

Before I get attacked for that, I just want to say that 'rooting' was my favourite chapter and I think that those poems were some of my favourite by her ever. I loved the rawness of them, and you could feel her passion coursing through those words. I thought it was so inspiring to hear about her mother and her family, and you could see the absolute love she has for them through those poems. I would really recommend reading those poems.

But the rest felt really cliche and, well, just boring. It was the same material she had used before but just not as good. Some of the poems felt really lazy and manufactured, like she was trying to recreate the magic of milk and honey but instead making her poems superficial. What I had liked about her poetry was its accessibility to all, but these felt too simple, too carelessly written to mean anything to anyone.

Her drawings were gorgeous as usual, and I enjoyed them more than most of the poems. Maybe I just haven't experienced life enough, maybe I need to know heartbreak to connect with these words. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great that Rupi Kaur is using poetry and her platform to give out important messages about rape, immigration, sisterhood and women standing up for each other. I just wish the poems hadn't been so formulaic in their writing.

rating: 4/10 (9.5 for the chapter 'rooting' though)