Christopher Reid

(Note: I always try to review poetry in my own bad verse. Apologies.)

Eliot's volume of feline-themed verse
Spawned a Broadway musical first
And a movie you might not pay to see
(But the reviews are entertaining for free).

In the spirit of that nonsensical book,
Author Reid chose to take a look
At the canine side of the equation
Finding in their quirks his inspiration.

In penning this sort of companion work,
Unfortunate comparisons always lurk:
I found these poems much less memorable,
I fear the book's show more not quite as venerable.

Eliot this fellow never will be,
His verse never rises to true poetry.
Or he may have been hampered by one simple fact:
Dogs are just not as poetic as cats. show less

A truly beautiful selection of poems. This was my favourite book for about 4 years (until supplanted by Staying Alive, which has the edge in terms of quantity but cannot surpass this in quality), and I used to carry it absolutely everywhere - I have ended up with three copies. Most of the poems are not well known, but all are excellent, and the selection is eclectic enough for the reader to avoid 'poetry fatigue' - everything feels fresh and different and inspiring, and in no sense cliched. show more

It is such a shame that more people do not own this! show less

Dull and way too wordy, though there were one or two really good poems hidden in the mix - they should have been given a much better chance to breathe. Actually by the time I'd finished the collection I really hated the woman he wrote it for, I have to say, so obviously that aspect of it didn't work for me, as surely she can't have been that irritating!

If you want top-class poetry of grief, then you're much better off with Hardy.

Don't know what to say.

It gets all the emotions, appears simple but has many layers and much depth. A masterful collection.

I'm sure I'll come back to reread this many times.