First, I strongly recommend you read the preface, even if you’re one of those people who usually skips past it assuming there is nothing worthwhile in its words. Before you can truly appreciate Sanghvi’s work, you have to understand the definition of their collective title.
From the few lines in the opening, “Ninety Days,” I knew Ami’s poetry was something special. There is a little light even in the most heart-torn lyrics of pieces like “Before I Was A Mountain” and “Writhing/Slithering.” Each line and stanza is utterly (ehem) poetic; revealing a strong and inspiring author. Sanghvi uses tragic and gruesome imagery to convey feelings of beauty, hopefulness, and the strength to carry on. It is a methodic style few creatives have ever mastered. However, it is my opinion that these masters are the truest artists mankind can produce.
Reading “Vigilante,” “Maid,” and “Slashed,” I recognized the same feelings and situations that I have experienced myself but have never had the words to so beautifully describe. You may be forced to reminisce about the darkest times of your life but I promise you will be better for it. Sanghvi offers a kind of empowerment to the worst parts of life that I have never before found. Every time someone reads her words, “A Boxer Is Born.” Moreover, there is a lesson in Amaranthine, a kind of warning about the less savory type of people that will try to make their way into our lives but who we should be proactive in identifying and ridding ourselves of if we value ourselves and our own best interest.
This collection is ultimately a lesson to the reader that all of us are “Louder” than our parts, experiences, feelings, hopes, conditions. We are not our “Prince Charming”s, we are what we learned from them. We are “[Un]fairer.” If you are a human being, please read Amaranthine.
I was able to write this review with the help of Reedsy Discovery, if you would like to show your support through them, you can do so here and I would be eternally appreciative for it.
Cheers!
Holland
H O L L Y + O A T E S 