DJ has minor issues, but VG cond. overall ( )

I was unable to resist buying this tiny little beautiful book in Brooklyn on my last day of my NYC trip for Book Riot Live, despite the fact that my bags were already packed full to overflowing. With books. I mean, it's so tiny, right? I just added it to all of the books in my purse.

It read it as a change of pace during Dewey's readathon. I'd been reading through The Familiar for hours and was starting to despair that I'd never finish a book again, so I grabbed this book and went on a walk. Of course the type in this book was so tiny that it made walking and reading difficult (even for a pro like me), but it liked being read out of doors, so I sat out in the yard to finish it.

I don't think that I've read Rilke before, so this was a nice (if brief) introduction. These poems (translations) are lovely and challenging. They speak to the soul. I can see myself reading them over and over. Indeed, it took me forever to write this review because I kept doing just that. These are definitely the type of poems that reward re-reading.

I shall have to seek out more Rilke. I am glad that I was tempted (and did not resist) this beautiful little book. ( )

3 1/2 stars.

This is a very small book. But very deep. I wish the translator had done the rest of the poems.

I will reread it again.

But I think I need to find more Rilke. ( )

The loftiness of these poems, all of which address and quest after God, isn't really to my taste. But it is Rilke and he is a natural poet unable to write a bad line. The translation by Babette Deutsch is terrific. It plays quite loose but reads with fluency and grace, and the tenor of the original is fully achieved. ( )

this is an absolutely lovely little book of poetry! rilke is a genius in reading and writing the soul. ( )