4 out of 4 stars
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You only know what you have read is worthwhile when you feel the urge to read it again. The Onam Rhyme and Other Passages from Time, (American Edition) is a collection of traditional English poems authored by Biju Vasudevan. The author is a mechanical engineer, a musician, an author, and a poet. He has won several awards, and these poems proved he is an experienced writer. The book was published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform in 2017 and is approximately 207 pages long.
The poems in this book handle various thematic areas. They include love, suffering, hatred, friendship, poor leadership, old age hardships, and many others. There are 120 poems in total and they all show nothing is permanent in life. The reader is taken through many winding paths in life. At one moment, you will be rejoicing as you read about good friends. As you move on, you will find a persona who is disturbed by the madness and cruelty ravaging the world and only wishes for its ultimate destruction. One will also be taken down the memory lane to reminisce about the good old days when genuine love still existed.
There is a poem I read at the start, and I thought I had undoubtedly found my favorite poem. However, I was surprised to find so many more favorable poems. I like poems that talk about real-life issues, and to such a degree I am glad that this book contained them. One such poem addressed the pitiable plight of a destitute child. I read the poem and was also left wondering why suffering would befall such an innocent soul. Eventually, the conclusion is that we should be thankful for all that we have. The other poem that I liked a lot was that of an old person who realizes that people view an aged person as useless unlike when young. All these poems will leave you radically rethinking about many issues in life, such as the harsh treatment accorded to the elderly people in modern society.
A lot of literary devices were employed in the book. They included allusion, satire and sound devices such as repetition and rhyme as well. The tone was thoughtful. The book was professionally edited. A page was wrongly formatted though towards the end. I guess this might be an issue with the kindle version only.
There is nothing I did not like in this book. Therefore, I soundly rate it 4 out of 4 stars. I heartily recommend it to all readers who love poetry.
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The Onam Rhyme and Other Passages from Time, (American Edition)
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