Storm Damage

by Brian Patten

A collection of poetry casting light upon the world we live in, and upon the darker corners of the self. The book tries to make sense of a world which is chaotic with unemployment, in-and-out affairs, street violence, hip vicars and terrorism among many other themes.

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

First published May 22, 1995

Reviews

[Astrid · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book came highly recommended by my father, but personally, it wasn't that exceptional to me. It was enjoyable, to be sure, and I found no glaring issue with the poems other than that they seemed to be more than a little juvenile. You can use a rhyme scheme in modern poetry without it being reductive and boring, but unfortunately, that was not accomplished here (at least, in my opinion). I did enjoy a few poems, though, and overall it was a quick read, if not the most rewarding.

My favorite poems:
"The shadow-puppet's complaint"
"A pity this couldn't have been a love poem"
"Where are all the long-haired optimists now?"
"The bee's last journey to the rose"
"Yes"
"Oracle"
"Dancing in England"
"The wrong house"
"Salvage operation"
"Her father rode"

[Louis Mahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Glue Story' and 'The Package' are stand-outs in my opinion. They cover Marxist themes of state oppression and the promotion of the nuclear family under capitalism. The working class voice of Patten in Thatcherite England is particularly poignant in 'Glue Story', with a narrator who utilises colloquial, regional dialect frequently.