Official Review: Poetry Adventure & Love

Anki_Real_Reviews · Post by **Anki_Real_Reviews** » 04 Jun 2016, 02:04

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Poetry Adventure & Love" by Ed Elgar.]

3 out of 4 stars

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Poetry Adventure & Love by Ed Elgar is a fiction describing the hardships and adventure that follows when one attempts to adjust in a community of people different from oneself. Cassie has been offered a job of Art Center Manager in Arnhem land. This tropical north region of Australia is inhabited by a tribal community named Yolngu. Their lifestyle and traditions are very different from others, and Cassie is afraid if she would be able to make connections with these people. She has done the research, but the anticipation of actually meeting with these people is nerve-wracking. To add to the problems, she has just broken up with her longtime boyfriend, James. After sailing for about three months, when she reaches this land, her entry is more than dramatic. She crashes the boat of a man named Ben, and their argument is quite unpleasant, to say the least. However, Cassie feels a connection, there. She dismisses this connection and focuses on his rude behavior. A guy named Mario helps in putting an end to their argument. From that moment, itself, Mario begins flirting with Cassie, which she finds annoying, but she cannot waive off the fact that Mario is quite attractive. Her mind, however, is focused on her work, which comes with its own financial difficulties, and she has been assigned the task of figuring out ways to eliminate these issues.

The author has done a wonderful job of introducing Yolngu tribe and their rituals. As a reader, I found Ed's description of Yolngu people's passionate dancing quite moving. By narrating the reaction of Cassie, he has tactically put forth the impact of their dancing on outsiders. I craved to watch this dance while reading about it. As I turned the pages of the book, I learned more and more about these fascinating people. The fact of Yolngu people being real elevated my desire to know more about them, and the author did not disappoint in sharing his knowledge. Learning about a new concept or community, while reading a fiction, is always a welcome scenario.

In a third person narrative style, the author has put forth the ideas, thoughts, and background stories of the characters. The dialogues reflect the mood of the characters and help the readers in connecting with them. In some instances, however, I felt that the dialogues lacked a required level of consistency. Physical characteristics and behavior of the characters aided in creating a mental image of all the characters in my head. The characters are believable, and each one of them is serving a purpose. Sometimes, the reaction of characters, however, seemed a little strange to me.

The book is made up of drama, love, and corporate politics. In the end, there is one action scene that ended quite abruptly, in my opinion. I would have liked a closure in that area. Throughout the read, I got the vibe that this book has been written in a rush. I wanted to know more about Cassie's past. The author has mentioned James many times, but I would have liked more knowledge about their relationship. The circumstances under which Cassie decided to move to this strange land could have been elaborated in a little more depth to increase a reader's connection with her. The climax, too, did not satisfy me. As I said, I believe that this book required more time and energy from the author.

All said and done, this book would help the readers in knowing a lot about Yolngu's way of life. It is a quick read. Although the love life of Cassie remains the central theme of the plot, there is action, drama, and adventure to keep the story exciting and non-monotonous. I would rate this book 3 out of 4 stars and would recommend it to the readers who enjoy learning about new communities and their rituals.

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Poetry Adventure & Love
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