Some books are read for their stories, whereas some are savoured for their vivid imagery. David's Park's The Poets' Wives belongs to latter category.

The gist:

The poets in question are William Blake, Osip Mandelstam, a Russian revolutionary poet and an unknown Irish poet. These are three separate stories told from their wives' point of view.

Blake's reputation as a madman yet a genius in the eyes of his wife as he breathed life into words and turned them into poetry is very effective although a bit abstract. Park makes a great connection between Blake and his poetry by inserting lines at appropriate intervals.

The second account is that of Nadehzha Mandelstam and the how his rebellious poetry cost him his life and turned hers into becoming a fugitive.

The third is that of an unknown contemporary Irish poet, how his poetic sensibilities restrained him from reaching out to his wife and children. Each account is different for the era and society separates the poets but they are bound by the common thread of fighting a society conspiring to tame them.

What works:

The language is beautiful and the moving images

What doesn't:

Although there is a bit of background, often the stream of consciousness approach gets a bit taxing for the reader

The voices though poignant fall short of involving the reader, leaving her wanting for a more comprehensive account

The writing style is brilliant and the descriptions are evocative.

However it is a taxing read and requires perseverance to enjoy it. ( )

found this a pretty joyless book. While some deeply moving sections later in the book redemed it somewhat can't say I liked this book. The only message I got from it was stay away from poets. Life is too short. ( )

The first part is narrated by the wife of William Blake. Many thought Blake was a mad man and her job was to support him and cajole him out of his maudlin moods. To go along when he was manic, and to color his prints for his various poems and projects. This section was written in a very surreal type of narration, first person and Was not my favorite. What was interesting is that her whole world was William, when he was not present she felt she was incomplete.

The second section is the Russian poet Osip, who was imprisoned during Stalin's dictatorship, for not conforming and writing what he actually felt. This was also first person but I felt it gave a pretty good glimpse of what it was like for some during this time period. Again her job was to support her husband and at times she actually felt like his mother.

The third section, though fictional, was the most interesting, set in Ireland. It was interesting to see the diff3rent roles the wives played, though in all many things were overlooked in the name of "genius."

I loved looking up the poems as they were mentioned, but also think that th3 first p3rson narrative did this book no favors. The third section probable has the most depth but my favorite was the second. ( )