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Glitter
Vignettes of a traveler writing her way through Maine and Oaxaca, Mexico. Accompanied by color photos taken by the author.
87 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2020
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January 13, 2022
I am torn writing what a harsh review for something that's well written. But when reading micro collections like, I look at how each piece works as one vignette and how they work with each other within the collection. Most of the pieces fell flat on both of these levels for me. The book is a travelogue, but I was never told where the author was, which could've worked except I never learned the importance of the people traveling with them or the kind of impact that these moments had on the writer. I came into the book completely blind and didn't know the settings were Maine and Mexico until I read the description, which is disappointing to me when place seems so tied to each image. Instead, it seems like I'm reading the authors journal, containing bits that might add up to a story later like pg. 60
"Peering into a record shop and seeing a small square window, a peep hole, hands flicking through stacks of records. The other three walk ahead."
The prose on the sentence level, like the rest of the book, is impeccably gorgeous, but the ideas aren't formed enough for me to get anything more. This issue is only heightened when I look at the pieces together. Some pieces are connected very intimately, like the sour dough crepe recipe and the pieces with the reoccurring imagery of pools. Other times my brain can't come up with any reason why one piece follows another. Why am I in a writing class when I was just in a desert campground and am about to return there? The pictures included are lovely, but when I think a pieces is connected to them, like the piece on pg. 53 where the author explicitly takes a photo of flowers, it isn't. Overall, it is clear to me that Alex Baker is an incredibly talented writer, I just couldn't get passed questioning "Why is this here?" Maybe I will return to this book again (when I'm in a less linear state of mind) and discover something more complete, but for now I can only see the scattering of pretty pieces.
"Peering into a record shop and seeing a small square window, a peep hole, hands flicking through stacks of records. The other three walk ahead."
The prose on the sentence level, like the rest of the book, is impeccably gorgeous, but the ideas aren't formed enough for me to get anything more. This issue is only heightened when I look at the pieces together. Some pieces are connected very intimately, like the sour dough crepe recipe and the pieces with the reoccurring imagery of pools. Other times my brain can't come up with any reason why one piece follows another. Why am I in a writing class when I was just in a desert campground and am about to return there? The pictures included are lovely, but when I think a pieces is connected to them, like the piece on pg. 53 where the author explicitly takes a photo of flowers, it isn't. Overall, it is clear to me that Alex Baker is an incredibly talented writer, I just couldn't get passed questioning "Why is this here?" Maybe I will return to this book again (when I'm in a less linear state of mind) and discover something more complete, but for now I can only see the scattering of pretty pieces.
Displaying 1 of 1 review