Poetry Book Review: Rainbow Debris

Intro: I received a copy of this book from the author for a review.

Synopsis:

The Author has tried to paint words, with his imaginations and abstract illusions. Most of the poems have embraced the art of postmodern literature. It is an anthology of poems written in various mood swings, oscillating in a pendulum of colors. The Author has penned this book in an attempt of giving life to the tropes of unworldly imaginations.

Play slow music, shut your brain’s eye, orchestrate your soul and mind. You are there…

Review:

What is our place in the universe? What makes us? Who are we? What’s our relation to the tiniest and largest things out there in the cosmos? What exactly is gender? What constitutes identity, and how does one describe a good sexual experience? These and some other questions form the crux of the debut poetry collection by author Dilipan Muthuramalingam.

The very first poem, The Make-up, starts off by describing what looks like a mundane, normal beard shaving routine. By the time it finishes, though, we have a completely different perception of who the person being described is, with a sudden change of pace and metaphorical expressions that play on gender. It is a trick that the author uses quite a few times throughout the book. And it has its effects too. Initially, it creates a disorientation, because the terms shift from supernova size to DNA size at the drop of a hat, and you aren’t quite sure whether you’re reading it right or not. This was part of the reason I had to put the book down a number of times, because I felt I wasn’t making much headway. But gradually, by the later half of the 16-poem run, the author’s themes and ideas became clearer to me, resulting in a warm conclusion to the book and a more satisfying experience on the second read.

The beauty of postmodern art and literature is that it is very much about the eye of the beholder. The same thing can mean different things to different people. Heck, even the author/artist can have a different interpretation by the third or fourth time s/he looks at it. In this, the poems in the book do open up to multiple interpretations on repeat readings.

There are musings on sex, both intercourse and gender identity, as is evident through the repeat, minutely detailed references to cross-dressing and human gametes.

The book also deals with memories, how they shape us and how people remember little vignettes from various stopovers in their lives. In this respect, the After Death poem trilogy at the end makes for a lovely read.

Verdict: Rainbow Debris is an unconventional, at-times funny, take on some of the fundamental questions of life.

Genre: Poetry, Postmodern literature, indie poetry.

Rating:⭐⭐⭐

Where to buy: https://www.amazon.in/gp/aw/d/B076Q6SQVP/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509252935&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX118_SY170_QL70&keywords=Rainbow+Debris&dpPl=1&dpID=51VhvfuE7NL&ref=plSrch

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Thanks for reading.