Review: How to Carry Fire

 In this critical situation of self-isolation, reading poetries is the best way to spend time. My friend Isabelle Kenyon recommended me to read the poetry book How to Carry Fire written by Christina Thatcher and be a part of her blog tour. Her suggestion was quite interesting, and I started reading this book.

Book titles play a major role in convincing a reader to pick up that book. I liked the title of this book. It will definitely make the reader curious to have a look at the contents inside it. 

The book is divided into two parts. The first part contains thirty poetries, and the second part contains forty-three poetries. So there are a total of seventy-three poetries in this book. 

The poems of this book are written in the first person. They expose both the dark and bright side of life. Each of the poems has an internal connection. They reveal some harsh realities of our materialistic world where there is little space for emotions. The poems reflect how hard working a woman can be and what she gets in return from an imprudent life partner. They also showcase how strong a woman can be and how she can leave a person for whom she had been bearing painful sagas. 

In this book, Christina embeds some attributes like anxiety, addiction, passion, love, in the fire. Then she tells the reader how fire is used in both the constructive and destructive ways. How to Carry fire and Knowing You- these two poems are my most favourite poems in this book. If you ask me to tell you my favourite stanza, then I'll pick these lines from the What the Newspapers Left Out poem:
"then that final call for me 
from across the ocean: 
Bring the fire with you.
Leave everything else behind."

The poem I didn't like much is Becoming an Astronaut. However, it plays a major role in maintaining the flow. I think the poet could have done better in this poem. Becoming an Astronaut is the lunar maria of this book. The beauty of this book would be compromised without this poem. 

Most of the poems in this book are small poems. This might attract the readers who love to read some lines and based on those lines, they love to wander in a world of imagination. If you're in a hurry, please don't go for this book. Reading this book is like a long-term investment. It needs time to develop the thoughts accordingly. I can honestly confess that I, myself have not gone into the root of the book yet. My recommended process to read this book will be- read a poem, let it be inside you for two to three days, play with the thoughts during that period and then go for the next poem.

This book will really attract deep readers. Those who love poetries can definitely taste this book. If you don't like reading poetries, or you are in an absolute beginning stage in reading poetries, you can also consider listing this book in your "must buy" list. However, if you are a minor, you are suggested to skip this book for a while. 

I felt like I was making a conversation with the author while reading this book. Let me give you an idea of how much I loved reading this book by rating it.

Writing Style: The poet has mastered the art of writing in layers. The reader must appreciate her skill of using proper words in proper situations. She creatively picked the poem titles. The book was professionally edited, and I didn't notice any typos or grammatical errors in this book. So I will not hesitate to give this book four out of four stars in this section. 

Reading Experience: I am still in a hangover of this book. A poem's quality is defined by how much it can create illusions in the reader's mind. When the poet starts a poem, it seems like a simple and straightforward theme. But when a reader reaches the end of the poem, he/she will realise that it is an adept illusion created by the poet. I am giving three out of four stars in this section. 

Overall Rating: Considering all the standpoints, I am rating How to Carry Fire three out of four stars. 

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