Neil Astley

I picked up Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times when I was going through very rough times a couple of years ago. The title caught my attention. Like I said, bad times. It is not an exaggeration to say that this book helped me through those dark days when I was hurting and needed to make sense of my life.

Staying Alive is stunning; among the all-time best poetry anthologies I have read to date. This is the kind of book I want to give to every one I know because it is entirely real and show more relevant to life. The poems are as powerful as they are true in their reflection of our human experience.

The varied collection of poets and topics in this anthology led me to discover some of my favorite works and poets. This poetry collection would be enjoyable for poetry buffs and the average reader alike; those currently experiencing difficult times and readers simply reflecting on life. The editor could not have complied a better selection of contemporary poems about what it means to be human. Read it! show less

This book has left me in two minds. I loved the way that folklore, sayings and poems were woven into the story, and I liked the twisting and continually surprising plot. Put very simply, the investigation of a murder leads the main characters into a web of deceit, cover-ups and complex relationships. The countryside of Loamshire turns out to be the real victim.

The detail and complexity of the names and characters made me read on - this book certainly excercised the mind! But at times the show more plot became so convoluted and confusing towards the end of the book, that I was nearly at the end of my tether. Perhaps that was the point. show less

This fabulous anthology turned me on to several poets I hadn't read before. I enjoyed the broad range of poets and styles Astley includes, along with his thematic groupings, which give gentle order to the collection and help to make the whole more than the sum of its parts.

Started poorly but picked up about 50 pages in. I've ticked the 'self-published' shelf because it has three things in common with other books I know were self published. firstly the typeface has a slightly different look from mass produced books (a good thing in this case), secondly there's just too much detail and it doesn't quite flow (but gives it a freshness which is engaging even if I had to skip over some passages) and thirdly it is packed with original and well thought out ideas show more (however baaarmy). The ending was a bit of a jolt with North Korea mentioned just as currently the new US presidency is stirring things up badly. show less