4 out of 4 stars
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Between Our Eyes That Fall by Shihori Obata is a compilation of free-form poetry. Its themes center around themes of hopelessness and self-doubt, especially with regards to romantic relationships. Despite these dark themes, though, the overall tone of the poetry is undeniably hopeful. A full page is devoted to each poem, and the poems themselves vary in length between an extended paragraph and a single sentence.
My greatest issue with this compilation is the lack of variety in structure. Each poem is written in the same free-form style, regardless of subject matter, so it often seemed like little regard was paid to how the poem's topic would mesh with its format. One of the strongest reasons for reading compilations like this is to experience the full range of an author's poetic writing. Since Obata rarely experiments with different formats and ways of arranging words, her poetry sometimes feels repetitive, giving the entire book a very uniform flavor.
That being said, the constant free-form nature of the poetry lent it a pervasive dreamlike quality. There are few concepts for the reader to really latch onto, something that bothered me when I started the book, but over time I warmed up to this aspect of the poems. Reading Between Our Eyes That Fall really did give me the feeling of walking in a dream, albeit not always a pleasant one. In this way, it was almost a meditative experience.
I also found the way Obata dealt with topics like despair and feeling alone deeply personal to my own struggle with mental illness. The introspective way she describes interpersonal relationships through a flurry of words and images was somehow familiar to me, and I expect that readers who have struggled with mental illness would have a similar experience. In the end, though, Obata seems to become at peace with these aspects of herself through her writing. I'd recommend this book to enthusiasts of free-form poetry that are dealing with some of the issues Obata's writing tackles.
If I could, I would rate Between Our Eyes That Fall 3.5 stars due to how repetitive the poetry became. Ultimately, though, I settled on 4 out of 4 stars. Obata's writing is dreamlike and deals with rather dark topics in an elegant way. While I can see most fans of free-form poetry enjoying this book to some extent, it seems most relevant to people who have experienced mental illness. I can only hope they gain a sense of peace after reading it like I did.
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Between Our Eyes That Fall
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