The Sunday Times Number One Bestseller
Winner of The GoodReads Choice Award for Poetry 2017
From Rupi Kaur, the bestselling author of Milk and Honey, comes her long-awaited second collection of poetry. Illustrated by Kaur, The Sun and Her Flowers is a journey of wilting, falling, rooting, rising and blooming. It is a celebration of love in all its forms.
this is the recipe of life
said my mother
as she held me in her arms as i wept think of those flowers you plant in the garden each year they will teach you that people too must wilt fall root rise in order to bloom
Praise for Rupi Kaur:
'Kaur is at the forefront of a poetry renaissance' Observer
'Kaur made her name with poems about love, life and grief. They resonate hugely' Sunday Times
'Poems tackling feminism, love, trauma and healing in short lines as smooth as pop music' New York Times
'Caught the imagination of a large, atypical poetry audience...Kaur knows the good her poetry does: it saves lives' Evening Standard
'Breathing new life into poetry...It has people reading, and listening' The Pool
'Every so often, a book comes along that seems to have a life of its own, that is passed lovingly from one reader to another with recommendations that insist, "You must read this". Rupi Kaur's Milk and Honey is one such book' Red Magazine
'Rupi Kaur's poetry communicates, distils life. Her success is a simply wonderful thing for poetry. Her work reveals how powerful and accessible poetry can be. It seems to help people too and is a fine example of the healing power of art' Allie Esiri, editor of four bestselling poetry anthologies and apps
'Rupi Kaur blazing a trail for new generations to discover verse is a wondrous thing. Her star is shining brightly. A drop of poetry can flood the imagination. It can also ease the mind. Her work is clearly bringing such pleasures to countless readers - mostly younger readers - and that is a cause for celebration for anyone who cares about poetry'Ben Holden, editor of bestselling anthologies Poems That Make Grown Men Cry & Poems That Make Grown Women Cry
in a dream i saw my mother with the love of her life and no children it was the happiest i'd ever seen her
- what if (p. 136)
Rupi Kaur's books are huge bestsellers. As far as poetry goes, Ms Kaur has an easy and accessible style. As can be expected for a book that contains more than a hundred pieces of poetry, the sun and her flowers is a bit of a mixed bag. The first chapter is solely dedicated to heartbreak and grieving a relationship - although recognizable, I didn't feel like there was a new or fresh take on this theme. It's when the book moves on to other areas of Ms Kaur's life that the poems shine. Especially the ones about her parents, first generation immigrants, struck a chord in their sincerity. In contrast, I though the poems that were on topics further removed, topics less personal, that this feeling is slightly lost. The ones about the refugee crisis, for example, or those on general feminist topics, although I am sure these are incredibly important to the author, they don't convey the same emotional immediacy.
The illustrations that accompany the poems are lovely, and I felt they complemented the reading experience. the sun and her flowers is worth a read - and don't be discouraged by the first chapter.
-- Trigger warnings: rape (including the rape itself and its aftermath), heartbreak, self-esteem issues and distorted body image.
