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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

REVIEW Sitting In Silence by Nicholas Rinth

From a beginning filled with bitter ruminations, to an ending that embraces reality and its sufferings, Sitting in Silence is a reminder to accept what the world hurls in your path, and to let those hardships shape you into something better.

REVIEW

This is not the first time my wife, CCAM, gives me a book for review, and in this case, only with two days before the posting date (not that there is a problem). You can see what kind of books are in blog tours, thus, for reviews, we share them: she takes the more "delicate" ones: romance, pixies, fairies, romantic vampires; I ... those “toughest”: zombies, monsters, adventures with rough dudes, badasses ladies, punches, guns, you know. This time I had a surprise. A big one! You know... jaw dropped, no, it cannot be real! Why? Because the first thing I saw when I opened the book was the word under the title. A word that blocked me: poetry! Goddammit... man, this was really, really low for her, I've said. And over all this, the book was also in pdf format (I hate to read books in pdf!).

Okay, that's it, we're moving on. The main problem is a simple one: at least for me, one should have a certain state of mind to read that. Adventure books you read them anywhere: on the couch, in the car, in the kitchen, on the toilet ... but the poetry... With poetry is a bit more complicated.

And I have one more problem. Usually, without any bravado, I don’t really like modern poetry.

So... today's book: poetry and prose. I start reading ... I'm reading one, two, three... ten... wait a minute! Let's not hurry... I like them! They are really interesting (and I didn’t choose this word just out of courtesy). I really like them!

The verses have no rhyme, but this does not ruin any of their beauty or the message they send. Damn ... some are really beautiful!

As atmosphere, even if nearly a century separates us from that artistic movement, you could think of literary symbolism movement. Pay attention! I gave you just an example. The book has nothing to do with that artistic movement. It's long dead and buried. I just wanted to give you an artistic landmark. I say this because of the author who, in the preface, used the word nostalgia. Reading them, I would rather use the word melancholy. Okay, not in a clinical sense, but in an artistic one.

The book must be read like a novel from beginning to end. The author chose this way to express her feelings through poems and small prose (letters). This is not a standard book of poems in which you could read one piece from the beginning after which you could jump to the middle or the end. No, everything is conceived as a whole. 

What is it about? About love, of course, we're not talking about patriotic poems. And as there are not many poems that speak of fulfilled love, we will get the other facet of love characterized by: sadness, disappointment, suffering, remorse, dismay, resignation, indifference, cruelty... I think I could fill a half-page with such words. But ... be careful! Don’t make any hasty conclusions yet and disappointed put the book aside! Surely, whoever has ever been truly in love, will resonate with this book.

Texts are a compilation written over some years. In them will find not only the wild love of youth but also the sense and the more settled love of maturity.

The book is like a fall into the abyss, a race down to hell and... stop! Go back! We're not ending in hell. Is no suffering there! There is punishment. We will stop to a higher floor: purgatory. Because at that level there are the tribulations. If the tormented soul will fall into flames, or it will receive wings to ascend to light and salvation, you will find yourself reading the book. Yeah, I'm leaving you in my purgatory too! No spoilers!

So, no matter the terminus is, the book will surely please you. If the idea of love still moves your heart, then it is worthwhile reading these lines written by Nicholas Rinth. With all the suffering that floods the book, the message and the elegance of the writing will surely conquer you. 

My advice? Let yourself be conquered!

Give in a moment to love and poetry and you will see that you will feel better. Get out of the daily routine!

Enjoy the reading!

Description:

Published: September 2017

Sitting in Silence is a collection of poetry and prose birthed during the idle instances of life that allow for noiseless introspection. It’s about the struggles of love, of loss, and of the unsuspecting experiences in between that make life worth living—and worth scorning.

From a beginning filled with bitter ruminations, to an ending that embraces reality and its sufferings, Sitting in Silence is a reminder to accept what the world hurls in your path, and to let those hardships shape you into something better.


About the author:
Nicholas Rinth lives lakeside in the southern graces of Savannah, Georgia. Where he spends his time fantasizing about other worlds and working on his next novel.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting