by Melanie Faith
Melanie Faith’s DOES IT LOOK LIKE HER? is a narrative poetry book that reads like a novel. But rather than rely on a lot of words as novels do, each of the 26 poems in the three-part fictional story of Alix is a brushstroke like the kind used by a renown artist to render her likeness into fame.
From that decisive act onward, the poems vividly depict key moments in the life of this 47-year-old woman, the newly divorced mom of a young son. Rather than remain in that time zone or point of view, however, the poems effortlessly show Alix metamorphosing into her new life, causing her son to witnesses the expansion as his own life blooms. Most telling are the poems in which her ex-husband won’t admit to seeing how she grows beyond him and their life together.
If you’re new to poetry, this book should be your entry. It’s accessible, but not simple, beautiful, but not “cute.” Best of all, each poem’s ending packs an insightful punch that caused me to think about, and find, new angles to my own life, rendering me to murmur, “Ah.”
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THE FALCON, THE WOLF AND THE HUMMINGBIRD a historical novel
BLISS ROAD, a memoir
WINTER LIGHT, a novel
THE WIND THIEF, a novel
GROWING GREAT CHARACTERS, a resource for writers