Official Review: Scatterlings by Zeena Nackerdien

Use this section to discuss drama books and poetry books. Drama includes plays but not novels. This includes work by Shakespeare, Marlowe, Miller etc. Poetry anthologies can also go here.
Forum rules
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
Post Reply
User avatar
NRoach
Posts: 99
Joined: 31 May 2017, 02:39
Currently Reading: Ironbark Hill
Bookshelf Size: 24
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nroach.html
Latest Review: We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz

Official Review: Scatterlings by Zeena Nackerdien

Post by NRoach »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Scatterlings" by Zeena Nackerdien.]
Book Cover
2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review


Scatterlings is a collection of politically minded poetry by Zeena Nackerdien. It's a short read at around sixty pages, but poetry is designed to be dipped in and out of. The poetry itself is divided into four sections: family, immigration, society, and diseases, and each part sees Nackerdien reflect on various aspects of those concepts. I devoured the whole thing in a couple of hours, and let it digest overnight before returning to it.

As I read Scatterlings, I loved the imagery and the emotions behind the text. Pieces like "Pair Bonds", dissecting gender roles and how contradictory they can be, or "A Small Business", which tells the story of a daughter struggling to keep open her late father's business, enraptured me and did exactly what Nackerdien was aiming for.

That said, I found a lot of the actual writing to be subpar. Poetry is immensely subjective, and I'm a picky one, but the disregard for a consistent meter kept me from properly engaging with the words. Oftentimes lines will come up that are simply too long and disrupt the flow, or the (poetic) feet will trip you up. Poetry has come a long way since the days of uninterrupted iambic pentameter, but the modern fashion of free verse doesn't mean no verse. I feel as though Nackerdien may have been writing for the rhyme a lot of the time, and that often weakens verse. There were a lot of couplets that I felt were a little cheap (bigot and spigot), some that felt like a stretch, and even some that simply don't work outside the US (albatross and discourse).

When it works, the poetry in Scatterlings is gorgeous. I spotted a few typos but nothing ridiculous, and on the whole it was very well put together. The whole thing is written from an American point of view, though the author's South African citizenship shines through brightly at times. I'm not sure that's a criticism, given that the target audience is likely to be other Americans, but it's something that's worth pointing out.

I give Scatterlings 2 out of 4 stars. A lot of it fell a bit too flat for me, but I think that says more about me than the book. I would honestly recommend it to everyone who's interested in this kind of political poetry. If you're not as picky a reader as I am, then you're likely to enjoy it. It provides an interesting insight into Nackerdien's ideas about the world, and I think it's definitely worth a look for poetry fans, and even for those who are just those interested in looking at the humanity behind the headlines that are many people's only experience of the world's many crises.

******
Scatterlings
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like NRoach's review? Post a comment saying so!
User avatar
Ana-Maria-Diana
Posts: 227
Joined: 20 Sep 2017, 05:55
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 54
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ana-maria-diana.html
Latest Review: Serendipity Mystery: Diary of a Snoopy Cat by R.F. Kristi

Post by Ana-Maria-Diana »

I think it is whorth reading it. The poems have different themes to talk about. It may not be the best poetry but I think reading some of them it will be nice.
User avatar
Samantha Simoneau
Posts: 766
Joined: 02 Apr 2018, 10:51
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 240
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-samantha-simoneau.html
Latest Review: Dancing With Jesus by Allison Broughton
Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG

Post by Samantha Simoneau »

This sounds like I may want to check it out, if only for the two pieces that you mention by title. Those intrigue me and I love poetry. Some of the "cheap" and "forced" rhymes would bug me too, but then, all my poetry is gathering dust on a shelf - so yay for Nackerdien!
Samantha Simoneau

“But upon the stage of life, while conscience claps, let the world hiss! On the contrary if conscience disapproves, the loudest applauses of the world are of little value."
~John Adams :greetings-clapyellow:
User avatar
Marissa Michael
Posts: 1100
Joined: 25 Oct 2017, 06:42
Currently Reading: Carrie
Bookshelf Size: 585
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-marissa-michael.html
Latest Review: Heartaches 3 by H.M. Irwing
2024 Reading Goal: 5
2024 Goal Completion: 60%

Post by Marissa Michael »

This political poetry deserve to be read to me. Gonna check this out. Thank you for your review on this.
"Read in order to live." ~Gustave Flaubert
"Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
User avatar
daniya__shah3
Posts: 222
Joined: 17 May 2018, 07:56
Currently Reading: Wuthering Heights
Bookshelf Size: 27
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-daniya-shah3.html
Latest Review: Lonely Expiation by Siegfried Finser

Post by daniya__shah3 »

The subject of the poetry doesn't sound interesting to me. However, I liked how you have reviewed the book.
"We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars."
-Oscar Wilde
User avatar
Jackie Holycross
Posts: 1622
Joined: 15 Apr 2018, 23:16
Currently Reading: The 7 Experiment
Bookshelf Size: 306
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-teacherjh.html
Latest Review: 20 World Religions and Faith Practices by Robyn Lebron

Post by Jackie Holycross »

The cover is interesting, but I’m not much into poetry collections.
User avatar
AmySmiles
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 1268
Joined: 21 Mar 2018, 10:43
Favorite Author: Dana Peters
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 149
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-amysmiles.html
Latest Review: Sex Education for Adults Secrets to Amazing Sex and Happily Ever After Too by John Wilder
fav_author_id: 154082

Post by AmySmiles »

I enjoy poetry but am very picky myself. I almost picked this book up for review. Thanks for your honesty and thanks for the review.
Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.
–Author Unknown
User avatar
irungu k
Posts: 3
Joined: 02 Jul 2018, 07:44
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by irungu k »

politics and poetry. ..not me! its a through review... thenk yo
Post Reply

Return to “Drama and Poetry Books”