Author: Rupi Kaur | Genre: Poetry |Illustrator: Rupi Kaur | Publisher: Simon & Schuster |Page Count: 192
Rupi Kaur has recently come out with her third poetry collection- ‘Home Body’. Rupi Kaur’s works have been subjected to heated debates. There are many who don’t consider it ‘real’ poetry but random journal entries with beautiful illustrations. She is considered more of an ‘insta-poet’ and I somewhat agree. But there is no doubt that Rupi Kaur has strong ideas and sentiments which she articulates very well. I appreciate the wide range of subjects she explores and the rawness of her words.
Now coming to her latest book’ Home Body’… The book is a collection of poems and prose about emotions, insecurities, fears as well as hope and resilience. The book is divided into four parts -mind, heart, rest and awake. The first section ‘Mind’ hit me the hardest. The content is dark and brutal. There are poems on depression, anxiety, sexual abuse and rape. The poems reflect the darkness in a raw and blunt manner. One feels shaken to the core reading about how sexual abuse suffered as a child scars a person for life.
The next section ‘Heart’ focuses on romantic and erotic love. I found this section a bit repetitive and there was nothing much new in it. The third section is ‘Rest’ which reflects on the busyness of life, obsession with productivity and capitalism. There were some thought-provoking pieces on productivity which I really enjoyed. Rupi Kaur also writes about her identity as an immigrant which was quite impressive. There’s a piece- ‘a life on the road’ which is about her father being an immigrant and how hard he had to work in order to survive in a foreign land. The story is so heartbreaking and makes one question if moving abroad in search of a better life is such a good idea.
The last section is ‘Awake’ which is a collection of pieces on political and ideological affiliations of Rupi Kaur. She talks about feminism and LGBTQ+ support. She very bravely challenges the so-called concept of feminism. In a straight statement, she declares ‘I’m not interested in a feminism that excludes trans women’.
In this book, we see a more confident and much more evolved Rupi Kaur, not only in her craft but also as a woman. Her writing style has grown all the more powerful which is evident in the verses where she talks about racism, sexism and misogyny. The book is also a reflection of the poet’s own journey and her fight through the darkness. There is something raw and profound in the way Rupi Kaur writes about various themes. Her pieces on abuse and depression are filled with layers of meaning and leave you with unease and discomfort in your core.
Most of the poems in this collection are actually poems and some long ones at that. I believe this collection had more lengthy poems than her other books, and they were indeed very well written and beautiful. The rest are thoughts or notes and even some one-liners. The illustrations represent the sentiments behind the verses and add to the overall aesthetic appeal.
If you are a fan of Rupi Kaur then go for this book. If you like insta poetry then go, get this one. There are some definite pearls in this collection which make it worth a read.
My Rating: 3.5 /5
©2020 Shaloo Walia All rights reserved
Buy the book on Amazon