4 out of 4 stars
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I had the privilege of reading The Immigrant’s Lament by Mois Benarroch documenting the life and travels of a poet across the years and changes he travels. What more can be written about a work encompassing the incredible journey of this award winning, accomplished writer.
Benarroch takes the reader on a trip through the day to day life of a writer as he grows and matures through the years. Meeting and falling in love, one feels the emotion of the poet has he experiences the excitement of a first, deep, and passionate love, to the joy and awe of a child, to the waning passion and loss of interest in his love over mundane time. I felt the excitement the poet felt as I read his words. That’s what I liked best about this work. The writer was able to bring the reader along in the emotion of the experience he was communicating.
It is plain to see why Benarroch has won the accolades to his credit. He is a master of the written narrative of life transforming each event into an experience the reader can fully participate in with all the senses engaged. It is easy to become lost in the experience, in the narrative. Transported to a different place and time, I was caught in another emotion apart from reality. The skillful beauty of the moment drew me back to reread passages to more deeply understand their meaning.
The life of the writer in the narrative was far enough removed from my experience, it was difficult for me to fully grasp the meaning at times with the first read. I found that frustrating. It was especially challenging for me to relate to the thin veil between sanity and delusion described in his final work. Perhaps it reflects how futile life may seem sometimes. I read this poem numerous times. For me, it was a masterful culmination of a full life experience yet left many unanswered questions. I wonder if we all feel that way at times, or if it was an experience unique to this author based on his challenges as a poet and an international traveler searching for his forever home.
I only encountered one error, a duplicate word, in this version which may have been a result of the pdf platform I was reading. The lack of punctuation in the earliest poems was challenging for me. I attributed it to the style of writing and deemed it a part of the narrative. I rate this work a 4 out of 4 stars for its incredible and compelling strength of message for any time, but especially now.
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The Immigrant's Lament
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