In Exchange for a Homeland

Rating:
Summary: BEAUTIFUL AND PERVERSE
Review: A magical, breathtaking, wonderful book that captures the complexity and perversity of life in the so-called Holy Land. Through a series of powerful poems that always maintain a fascinating, delicate balance between the personal and the political, Yosefa Raz chronicles the bittersweet adventures of a young girl growing up in a world of historical majesty, dark sexuality, broken promises, familiar strangers, contagious violence, painful memories, mutual humiliation, and intoxicating yet terrifying sights, smells, and tastes. Brave poetry written with admirable precision, sensitivity, and honesty. A must.

Rating:
Summary: Breathless
Review: You can read these poems a hundred times and each time they will take your breath away. The images are visceral; you feel the heat of the sun, the dryness in the throat, the texture of the cloth. Poems so good, you'll wish you could eat them. This is really an amazing start to what is sure to be a long and successful career. I look forward to more work from Raz.