Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collections
Publication
Publisher Unknown
Description
Fiction. Poetry. Romance. HTML: The book is divided into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose. Deals with a different pain. Heals a different heartache. milk and honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look..
Original publication date
2015-10-06
User reviews
LibraryThing member schatzi
This book of poems (I use that term loosely) was repeatedly recommended to me, so I finally caved and read it.
I'm kind of picky when it comes to poetry. I like poetry on occasion, but it's not my favorite thing ever. I have to be in a particular mood (and, honestly, being a little bit high
I think my problem with this collection is that it doesn't feel like poetry to me. It feels like a bunch of sentences (often run-on sentences) that use creative spacing to try to pass them off as poetry.
Take, for example, this quote from Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera: “You must know that I am made of death, from head to foot, and it is a corpse who loves you and adores you and will never, never leave you!”
Now I shall "Rupi-ize" it:
You must know
that I am
made of
death
from head
to foot,
and it is
a corpse
who loves you
and adores you
and will never,
never,
leave you.
So, basically, anything can be a poem if you follow this pattern, I guess.
I mean, don't get me wrong - some of the things that the author writes are quite good. But most of it? Meh. I could take it or leave it.
I'm kind of picky when it comes to poetry. I like poetry on occasion, but it's not my favorite thing ever. I have to be in a particular mood (and, honestly, being a little bit high
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certainly helps) to enjoy poetry. I think my problem with this collection is that it doesn't feel like poetry to me. It feels like a bunch of sentences (often run-on sentences) that use creative spacing to try to pass them off as poetry.
Take, for example, this quote from Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera: “You must know that I am made of death, from head to foot, and it is a corpse who loves you and adores you and will never, never leave you!”
Now I shall "Rupi-ize" it:
You must know
that I am
made of
death
from head
to foot,
and it is
a corpse
who loves you
and adores you
and will never,
never,
leave you.
So, basically, anything can be a poem if you follow this pattern, I guess.
I mean, don't get me wrong - some of the things that the author writes are quite good. But most of it? Meh. I could take it or leave it.
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LibraryThing member viviennestrauss
Glad to see I'm not the only one who hated this. Once again, "New York Times Bestseller" means absolutely nothing. This was like a collection of inspirational quotes collected by a teenager and strung together to make a book.
LibraryThing member flying_monkeys
That feeling when a complete stranger writes their feelings, thoughts, experiences, and those words perfectly describe what you previously thought indescribable.
A few of my favorites:
"you might not have been my first love
but you were the love that made
all the other
irrelevant"
----------------------------------
"i didn't leave because
i stopped love you
i left because the longer
i stayed the less
i loved myself"
----------------------------------
"loneliness is a sign you are in desperate need of yourself"
----------------------------------
"do not look for healing
at the feet of those
who broke you"
----------------------------------
4 stars
A few of my favorites:
"you might not have been my first love
but you were the love that made
all the other
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lovesirrelevant"
----------------------------------
"i didn't leave because
i stopped love you
i left because the longer
i stayed the less
i loved myself"
----------------------------------
"loneliness is a sign you are in desperate need of yourself"
----------------------------------
"do not look for healing
at the feet of those
who broke you"
----------------------------------
4 stars
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LibraryThing member asxz
To be clear I am in no way belittling the life experiences and personal traumas of Ms Kaur.
On the other hand this is the most insipid, juvenile, mortifyingly awful collection of doggerel. Think of every poem you wrote when you were 14 and multiply it by the word "Me" in neon, 80ft high outside
This is epically terrible.
On the other hand this is the most insipid, juvenile, mortifyingly awful collection of doggerel. Think of every poem you wrote when you were 14 and multiply it by the word "Me" in neon, 80ft high outside
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your school prom. This is epically terrible.
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LibraryThing member villemezbrown
I'm not a fan of poetry, but in picking up this book today, I was looking for a strong female voice to cut through the bullshit and provide a tonic against my relatives and the politicians who have been shouting for the past two weeks that we should be very scared and worried for our sons and
The rawness of Kaur's first section of poems, "The Hurting," was a devastating reminder of why we need to be scared and worried for our daughters, our wives, and the women we don't even know but who deserve to live lives free of toxic and entitled men who abuse them with impunity.
After taking me so low, I was surprised that Kaur was then able to lift me up with thoughts of love in the next section, "The Loving." Thankfully, the heartache of "The Breaking" did not take me as low as the first section because I don't think I could have handled that, and the closing, "The Healing," did not lift me as high as the second section since I'm not into self-help aphorisms.
I'm not even sure if this is poetry, or simply the most lyrical and moving Twitter feed I've ever read. I just know that it was I needed right now, and for that I am most grateful.
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husbands because of what they see as false #metoo accusations being thrown around by women who are crazy or paid agents.The rawness of Kaur's first section of poems, "The Hurting," was a devastating reminder of why we need to be scared and worried for our daughters, our wives, and the women we don't even know but who deserve to live lives free of toxic and entitled men who abuse them with impunity.
After taking me so low, I was surprised that Kaur was then able to lift me up with thoughts of love in the next section, "The Loving." Thankfully, the heartache of "The Breaking" did not take me as low as the first section because I don't think I could have handled that, and the closing, "The Healing," did not lift me as high as the second section since I'm not into self-help aphorisms.
I'm not even sure if this is poetry, or simply the most lyrical and moving Twitter feed I've ever read. I just know that it was I needed right now, and for that I am most grateful.
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LibraryThing member greeniezona
I know this collection is kind of controversial, so I suppose that I wanted to make up my own opinion about it. Mostly what I thought as I was reading was, "I would have liked these much more when I was younger." Of course, there is something to be said for capturing that rawness of youth, but most
Only one fragment really jumped out at me, and I wanted to record it here --
i am losing parts of you like i lose eyelashes
unknowingly and everywhere.
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of these didn't have much to say to me.Only one fragment really jumped out at me, and I wanted to record it here --
i am losing parts of you like i lose eyelashes
unknowingly and everywhere.
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LibraryThing member Petroglyph
This is one of those books that are decidedly not for me. Many of these poems just came across as standard motivational poster material, pseudo-deep quotes from anime you see in online forum signatures, or loose thoughts with artificial breaks to mimic the look of poetry. I thought the sentiments
I’ll give a few examples of what I’m talking about, and I’ll quote the poems in full. Here’s one from p. 87:
it must hurt to know
i am your most
beautiful
regret
And here is another (p. 93):
i am a museum full of art
but you had your eyes shut
And another (p. 88):
i didn’t leave because
i stopped loving you
i left because the longer
i stayed the less
i loved myself
I’m sorry to say that this does not qualify as poetry to me. Deepities and cheap sentiment, yes. Poetry? Not so much.
In general, I thought Kaur’s writings do way too much telling, and way too little showing, like in this poem from p. 118:
i don’t know why
i split myself open
for others knowing
sewing myself up
hurts this much
afterward
Or this one from p. 155:
there is a difference between
someone telling you
they love you and
them actually
loving you
And this one from p. 158:
removing all the hair
off your body is okay
if that’s what you want to do
just as much as keeping all the hair
on your body is okay
if that’s what you want to do
- you belong only to yourself
Too many poems in this book are like that: straightforward telling with artificial line breaks and not enough showing.
Only occasionally did Kaur hit upon a striking non-trite image or a progression of images that went at least part of the way there, such as in this poem (p. 31):
when my mother opens her mouth
to have a conversation at dinner
my father shoves the word hush
between her lips and tells her to
never speak with her mouth full
this is how the women in my family
learned to live with their mouths closed
Sadly, I thought poems like these were too few and far between. The ones I liked best were about female sexuality and surviving sexual abuse: those are topics I haven’t read much poetry about, and that’s where Kaur’s directness seemed almost touching.
So yeah. Direct and heart-felt these writings may be, I thought they were trite and full of teen pain and not very poetry-like. But like I said at the start, I am not part of the target audience, which is teenage girls, and that is really all there is to it. I hope they, at least, get something out of it.
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expressed were trite and teenagery, though they are expressed with the intensity of someone feeling things for the very first time, someone finally finding words to express them. I’ll give a few examples of what I’m talking about, and I’ll quote the poems in full. Here’s one from p. 87:
it must hurt to know
i am your most
beautiful
regret
And here is another (p. 93):
i am a museum full of art
but you had your eyes shut
And another (p. 88):
i didn’t leave because
i stopped loving you
i left because the longer
i stayed the less
i loved myself
I’m sorry to say that this does not qualify as poetry to me. Deepities and cheap sentiment, yes. Poetry? Not so much.
In general, I thought Kaur’s writings do way too much telling, and way too little showing, like in this poem from p. 118:
i don’t know why
i split myself open
for others knowing
sewing myself up
hurts this much
afterward
Or this one from p. 155:
there is a difference between
someone telling you
they love you and
them actually
loving you
And this one from p. 158:
removing all the hair
off your body is okay
if that’s what you want to do
just as much as keeping all the hair
on your body is okay
if that’s what you want to do
- you belong only to yourself
Too many poems in this book are like that: straightforward telling with artificial line breaks and not enough showing.
Only occasionally did Kaur hit upon a striking non-trite image or a progression of images that went at least part of the way there, such as in this poem (p. 31):
when my mother opens her mouth
to have a conversation at dinner
my father shoves the word hush
between her lips and tells her to
never speak with her mouth full
this is how the women in my family
learned to live with their mouths closed
Sadly, I thought poems like these were too few and far between. The ones I liked best were about female sexuality and surviving sexual abuse: those are topics I haven’t read much poetry about, and that’s where Kaur’s directness seemed almost touching.
So yeah. Direct and heart-felt these writings may be, I thought they were trite and full of teen pain and not very poetry-like. But like I said at the start, I am not part of the target audience, which is teenage girls, and that is really all there is to it. I hope they, at least, get something out of it.
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LibraryThing member Berly
[milk and honey] by rupi kaur 4.0
The poems in this book are divided into four sections: the hurting, the loving, the breaking, and the healing and they cover topics like love, sex, rape, finding your voice, feminism, fathers and daughters, and self-acceptance. [milk and honey] is deceptive, for
Here's a sampling. I have numbered them since I can't separate them by pages and I don't want anyone to think they are stanzas. Many of them seem like truths.
1.
you cannot leave
and have me too
i cannot exist in
two places at once
- when you ask if we can still be friends
2.
you tell me to quiet down cause
my opinions make me less beautiful
but i was not made with a fire in my belly
so i could be put out
i was not made with lightness on my tongue
so i could be easy to swallow
i was made heavy
half blade and half silk
difficult to forget and not easy
for the mind to follow
3.
people go
but how
they left
always stays
The poems in this book are divided into four sections: the hurting, the loving, the breaking, and the healing and they cover topics like love, sex, rape, finding your voice, feminism, fathers and daughters, and self-acceptance. [milk and honey] is deceptive, for
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there is nothing sweet about this collection of poetry. It is emotional. Raw. At times, I felt exposed. Again, not my typical kind of poetry. Many are two-liners. Punctuation? What's that? And no titles. But, I set out to read just one poem for the day and wound up reading the whole book. How can it not be my kind of poetry if it is powerful, rips me open, and will stay with me forever? Here's a sampling. I have numbered them since I can't separate them by pages and I don't want anyone to think they are stanzas. Many of them seem like truths.
1.
you cannot leave
and have me too
i cannot exist in
two places at once
- when you ask if we can still be friends
2.
you tell me to quiet down cause
my opinions make me less beautiful
but i was not made with a fire in my belly
so i could be put out
i was not made with lightness on my tongue
so i could be easy to swallow
i was made heavy
half blade and half silk
difficult to forget and not easy
for the mind to follow
3.
people go
but how
they left
always stays
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LibraryThing member bookworm12
I am not a fan of poetry. This year I am working to learn to appreciate it more. So far this collection has been an absolute treat. Emotionally raw and heartbreaking, the poems are spare but effective.
LibraryThing member phoibee
Reading the book made me feel nauseous and uncomfortable, so it's good. Good because it is the reality and better because it is felt. I was attacked by the raw emotions and the graphic imagery of it.
Rupi's pieces are cut in random lines. It was my pet peeve on some point but I suppose this style
Rupi's pieces are cut in random lines. It was my pet peeve on some point but I suppose this style
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becomes a fad in modern poetry recently that I have to take to enjoy. Show Less
LibraryThing member ViragoReads
This was just everything. Rupi Kaur gives everything in this book. There is beauty and ugliness, sweetness and sadness, pain and healing. This book makes you feel happy, sad, angry, empowered, and thoughtful all at once. I can see myself in these pages. I can see people I know in these pages. I am
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reading friends, loved ones, people I love, and hate; people I miss and those I see everyday. I see the author in these words, and she is beautiful and brilliant.Read this book.Poetry is a fairly new thing I'm exploring and this book has helped me to appreciate and love it a little more. Show Less
LibraryThing member ouroborosangel
you are snakeskin
and I keep shedding you somehow
my mind is forgetting
every exquisite detail
of your face
and letting go has
become the forgetting
which is the most pleasant and saddest thing
to have happened
(pg. 119)
I'm not usually a poetry fan, but this book spoke to me. Very much a women's perspective
and I keep shedding you somehow
my mind is forgetting
every exquisite detail
of your face
and letting go has
become the forgetting
which is the most pleasant and saddest thing
to have happened
(pg. 119)
I'm not usually a poetry fan, but this book spoke to me. Very much a women's perspective
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on relationships and sexuality and gender. Try it, I think you'll like it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Catherine_GV
I can be quite picky and severe when it comes to poetry as it has to make me feel, ache, and wonder. It's not an easy task to do. But I'll say this:
Rupi Kaur delivered brilliantly. I loved her minimalist approach to most of her poems and their intensity. The word choice is deliberate yet touches
In one word? Raw. That's what these poems are - they're so raw they grip your guts and twist them, but their trick? They make you want more!
There's only one thing I disliked about it and it was how many talks and references about sex there are. I was growing tired and annoyed of reading about it... It was as though it made up her whole life. I understand it might be important for the majority of people, but it was redundant and vulgar.
I didn't expect much from Milk and Honey, but I had a lot of fun (and heartache, let's admit it here) reading this collection. In my opinion, it focuses on love, want, sex, abuse, heartache, and happiness. The writing was a bit surprising because I am used to writing each new verse with capital letters in my own poetry, but Rupi Kaur never used a capital at all! Different, but interesting in its own way.
I gave it four stars because how wonderfully emotional it is (positive) and for the overuse of sex (negative). I encourage everyone to read it, mostly women as it tackles difficulties we experience everyday. Be aware that this collection of poems is not soft. You will be shaken, moved, and sometimes even thrown off your feet. But it'll leave a good trace on you.
I could go on and on, but really, you just have to try it.
Rupi Kaur delivered brilliantly. I loved her minimalist approach to most of her poems and their intensity. The word choice is deliberate yet touches
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one's soul with their truth. In one word? Raw. That's what these poems are - they're so raw they grip your guts and twist them, but their trick? They make you want more!
There's only one thing I disliked about it and it was how many talks and references about sex there are. I was growing tired and annoyed of reading about it... It was as though it made up her whole life. I understand it might be important for the majority of people, but it was redundant and vulgar.
I didn't expect much from Milk and Honey, but I had a lot of fun (and heartache, let's admit it here) reading this collection. In my opinion, it focuses on love, want, sex, abuse, heartache, and happiness. The writing was a bit surprising because I am used to writing each new verse with capital letters in my own poetry, but Rupi Kaur never used a capital at all! Different, but interesting in its own way.
I gave it four stars because how wonderfully emotional it is (positive) and for the overuse of sex (negative). I encourage everyone to read it, mostly women as it tackles difficulties we experience everyday. Be aware that this collection of poems is not soft. You will be shaken, moved, and sometimes even thrown off your feet. But it'll leave a good trace on you.
I could go on and on, but really, you just have to try it.
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LibraryThing member BefuddledPanda
This short read packs a powerful punch. A must-read for anyone and everyone.
LibraryThing member NoelleKravitz
Pros:
-Quick Read
-Simple
-Emotionally Powerful
-Clear Tone
-Neat Drawings/Doodles
Cons:
-Can be Emotionally Jarring/Draining
-Surprised by mature themes because the title sounded so pretty
Notes:
-Sentences have "incorrect" grammar, punctuation, capitalization, etc. because the author was inspired by her
-Book format is like snippets of poetic prose (a few people I've seen have thought it ridiculous that the book's entries could be called poetry just because of all the line breaks, but what contributes to something being poetry is the rhythm/feel while reading, and poetic devices such as line breaks is one of the ways to create that. Prose is generally very straightforward and has little to no rhythm (like these review sentences), but that isn't to say that prose doesn't use poetic devices, Shakespeare's writing has probably some of the best examples of this, but you could also use Ellen Hopkins' books or even Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". Basically what makes this poetry instead of a story is an overlying plot or defined characters that connects all the tidbits, although there are poems that act as stories too (like the epics "The Illiad" and "The Odyssey" by Homer), so I guess the lesson of the day is that it doesn't really matter what it's called as long as it resonated with you as a reader, which I guess can depend on whether you like poetic devices or not.)
That was a longer and much more rant than review, so my bad, but thanks for reading this because it means you probably read to the bottom :) I hope I didn't sound condescending, sorry if I did, I'm just starting out writing reviews.
-Quick Read
-Simple
-Emotionally Powerful
-Clear Tone
-Neat Drawings/Doodles
Cons:
-Can be Emotionally Jarring/Draining
-Surprised by mature themes because the title sounded so pretty
Notes:
-Sentences have "incorrect" grammar, punctuation, capitalization, etc. because the author was inspired by her
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mother tongue, Punjabi, which has a script that has no distinction between upper and lowercase letters and the only punctuation used is the period. This might make it difficult for some people to read or enjoy (although the writing is not ridiculously complex or long-winded, which makes it easier).-Book format is like snippets of poetic prose (a few people I've seen have thought it ridiculous that the book's entries could be called poetry just because of all the line breaks, but what contributes to something being poetry is the rhythm/feel while reading, and poetic devices such as line breaks is one of the ways to create that. Prose is generally very straightforward and has little to no rhythm (like these review sentences), but that isn't to say that prose doesn't use poetic devices, Shakespeare's writing has probably some of the best examples of this, but you could also use Ellen Hopkins' books or even Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". Basically what makes this poetry instead of a story is an overlying plot or defined characters that connects all the tidbits, although there are poems that act as stories too (like the epics "The Illiad" and "The Odyssey" by Homer), so I guess the lesson of the day is that it doesn't really matter what it's called as long as it resonated with you as a reader, which I guess can depend on whether you like poetic devices or not.)
That was a longer and much more rant than review, so my bad, but thanks for reading this because it means you probably read to the bottom :) I hope I didn't sound condescending, sorry if I did, I'm just starting out writing reviews.
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LibraryThing member bucketofrhymes
This is such a tricky book to review. On the one hand, there is no question that it is brilliantly-written, powerful, and striking a chord with readers. On the other hand, I specifically do not connect with this style of poetry.
I do recommend this book if you like confessional poetry and the
I do recommend this book if you like confessional poetry and the
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writing styles of authors like John Green. Well done, just not for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member oddandbookish
So this was as good as people said it was.
I always have a hard time reviewing poetry and putting what I think about them into words, but what I can say is that I really liked the drawings. I liked how the sketches supplemented the poems. They took the poems to another level because they seemed so
I always have a hard time reviewing poetry and putting what I think about them into words, but what I can say is that I really liked the drawings. I liked how the sketches supplemented the poems. They took the poems to another level because they seemed so
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candid, honest, and effortless. Show Less
LibraryThing member John_Warner
Since April was poetry month, I decided to pick up one to read. Since I don't read much poetry, I didn't have a clue which one to choose. Since Milk and Honey has been a NYT bestseller, I decided on this one. The book is divided in four chapters, each with a different theme, possibly compiled
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during different periods of the 25 year old author's life. The book begins with a woman who suffered an abusive childhood or relationship followed by chapters respectively focused on the emotions of a woman passionately in love, grieving a severed relationship, and ending with verses on psychological healing and exhortations of femininity. Poetry is still not my sustained literary diet; however, the author skillfully transmitted the spectrum of positive and negative emotions through her poetry. Show Less
LibraryThing member Silvernfire
I am not the right audience for this book, hence the lower rating. For me, a poem has three aspects to it: the language the poet uses and how they use it, the imagery, and the emotions the poem evokes. For the most part, the language didn't make much of an impression on me. I'd click with the
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imagery in a few poems, but not many. Kaur's strength is her ability to pour emotion into a poem, and it's impressive. It just wasn't enough for me to love this collection. Show Less
LibraryThing member ReadersCandyb
If you are thinking about reading this book I'd recommend skipping the first part ... For me, I instantly became meh and confused. That part was so scattered and disconnected that I almost didn't continue...
However, I'm so glad that I did because I fell in love with the rest. I really related to
Overall, I definitely recommend it to readers searching for a word hug. Let this story be a lesson or guidance or just reassurance that no matter what happens you can always overcome it.
However, I'm so glad that I did because I fell in love with the rest. I really related to
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the breaking part and it opened my eyes to a new perspective. It helped me appreciate the flaws and made me happy I experienced such turmoil. It pulled out emotion and also filled me with inspiration. I think all who have experienced a bad break up will definitely find solace in the pages.Overall, I definitely recommend it to readers searching for a word hug. Let this story be a lesson or guidance or just reassurance that no matter what happens you can always overcome it.
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LibraryThing member debbiesbooknook
4.5 Stars
This little poetry book is a gem!! Kaur's poems inspired me to write a haiku as my review.
Short book of poems
Has me in awe and thinking
Of loss, life, and love
This little poetry book is a gem!! Kaur's poems inspired me to write a haiku as my review.
Short book of poems
Has me in awe and thinking
Of loss, life, and love
LibraryThing member ecataldi
Wow. This book of poetry was raw, compelling, and impossible to put down. I rushed through it but now I want to start over so I can savor it. It's hauntingly beautiful and easy to relate to. It's broken into four parts: the hurting, the loving, the breaking, and the healing. The poems range in
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length and some even have accompanying sketches. Rupi Kaur mastered the art of conveying deep emotion with minimal words. I can't get over how beautiful and poignant this collection is. Definitely a poet to keep an eye out for and one whose books I will certainly add to my own personal collection because I know I'll want to revisit her words again and again. Show Less
LibraryThing member Stronghart
I have a few things to say about this deceptively small book. Why deceptive? Because it is truly weighty, filled with poems concentrated from emotional thunderstorms distilled into light-filled bright lines, heart opened, skies cloudless and clear.
“what am I to you he asks
I put my hands into his
and whisper, you
are every hope
I’ve ever had
in human form.”
Here's a very poignant and meaningful poems in rupi kaur’s milk and honey, to which I would draw your attention.
“a daughter should
not have to beg her father
for a relationship.”
This poem can be read both ways. It is hard and crusty.
kaur writes diamonds.
“what am I to you he asks
I put my hands into his
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lapand whisper, you
are every hope
I’ve ever had
in human form.”
Here's a very poignant and meaningful poems in rupi kaur’s milk and honey, to which I would draw your attention.
“a daughter should
not have to beg her father
for a relationship.”
This poem can be read both ways. It is hard and crusty.
kaur writes diamonds.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kateprice88
I'm not the biggest reader of poetry. My poetry consumption normally revolves around the collections my brother pushes me to read. I didn't feel much connection to any of the poems. While I normally appreciate interesting formatting and artwork, that aspect didn't capture my attention to any great
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degree either. I did read this as an ebook, so the format might have something to do with that. While this wasn't a poor collection by any means, I simply didn't feel much connection to it. Show Less
LibraryThing member DKnight0918
Great collection of poetry.