Book Review: Ghost Lights by Keith Montesano
Ghost Lights by Keith Montesano
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
On a technical and craft level Montesano assembled a fine collection here. I find no fault whatsover with the his poetry on that level. In fact, I know I'll return to this book for that reason.
What I will have problems with and what got under my skin was the themes of the collection. It was depressing as all get out. And I get that life is often depressing, that sometimes we tend to view the world around us and the tragedy's far too casually. It's true. And Montesano does a great job of pointing that out, and shoving our faces in it. Which bothers me.
Elegy after elegy and focusing on the worst the world has to offer made for a discomforting read, and ultimately left me feeling melancholy. If the point was to make me think, I believe that Montesano failed for me, because I do my damndest to not be so jaded, so cynical, so quick to brush off the sheer volume of tragedy life brings our way. Because that is the lazy way out, to my way of thinking. So, the conceit or theme of the collection fell on hard ground for me.
Oh, and he broke bad on Neil Peart. Not a good thing to do.
I would recommend this collection to anyone who wants to improve their craft. Because Keith Montesano's poetry is well made and worth studying. As I said, I know I'll come back to this book for that very reason. I just won't enjoy so many of the poems due to theme.
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