The Book of What Remains

He has now become one of my favorite authors- I normally don't like poetry, but his writing is so powerful and wonderful- it has changed my attitude.

Mr. Saenz never ceases to amaze me with his immense amount of talent. And this blunt-force collection of poetry is no exception to this rule. From one of contemporary Latino writing's most Renaissance men (he writes fiction, young adult novels, short stories, poetry, and children's books, as well as paints) we are given a book of poetry that makes most modern day poets look stoic. Here is the El Paso in which Saenz lives--partially as you would expect it to be portrayed since it is a stone's throw from the tumultuous Juarez, a city of mass murders, unfathomable gang violence, and lawlessness--nestled in the desert and fighting for its life. No, fighting for its soul. And in the midst of all the well-known and lesser-known political and personal turmoil, Saenz turns the mirror on himself and dissects his own relationship with the land, with his identity, with his failed marriage and his sometimes troubling friendships. It's his honesty that hurts most, when the reader realizes that we are rarely honest with others, let alone ourselves. Such is not the case with this glorious collection. Each poem is a gift--often steeped in tragedy but redeemed by Saenz's unending well of optimism. We are blessed to have such an honest soul among us. Buy this for yourself and savor every word. Buy it for someone you love. Buy it for someone you've hurt. Most of all, buy it for someone who hurt you, and experience the catharsis that is Benjamin Alire Saenz's breathtaking poetry.

This is the best poetry book I have read in a very long time. It is poetry at its best: deep, human, and full of surprises. It is poetry doing its job!