Tomcat on Thaliad: "extraordinary, deeply moving and fiercely intelligent"

We were delighted to read a highly appreciative, detailed review of Thaliad from the Welsh book reviewer and blogger, Tom in the Red Room.

He calls Thaliad:

• an extraordinary, deeply moving and fiercely intelligent poem
• "one of the best examples [of the post-apocalyptic genre] I’ve ever read"
• "a desperate and genuinely moving cling to life that’s equal parts bleak and uplifting, harrowing and hopeful."
• a book written in verse which "has some strikingly novelistic traits: chapter divisions, direct speech, and a first person narrator, all of which should act as a helpful way-in for those readers more familiar with novels than poetry."

and points out:

• "the sheer inventiveness and lyrical exuberance of Youmans’ writing"
• [it is] "structurally formal, but the poetry never feels rigidly metered or constrained; a feat entirely due to the beauty, flow and vitality of the writing"
• "As well as being unusually beautiful, Thaliad’s artwork is loaded with symbolism and connotation."
• "The book’s real appeal is its language, its characters and the heartbreaking decisions they find themselves making.  Marly Youmans takes great pains to ensure that Thaliad isn’t one of those post-apocalyptic narratives whose characters are mere passive bystanders swept along by Big, Important, Global events beyond their control.  Choices made and not-made are the thematic heart of the poem..."

Tomcat also discusses the Classical references in the book, but makes it clear that a knowledge of ancient literature is not at all necessary for enjoyment of the book. He himself is a Sci-Fi fan, and concludes by saying that Thaliad is "a convergence of genre spaces, and we Science Fiction fans, sometimes so rigid and stubborn in our reading, would do well to embrace it."

It's a delight when a reviewer really "gets"a book, and writes about it so well. Thank you, Tom.