Book Review: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

5/5 stars

(Finished reading: 7/8/17)

Love, life and feminism.

Milk and Honey is a collection of poetry about love, loss trauma, abuse, healing and femininity. It’s split into 4 chapters labelled: the hurting, the loving, the breaking and the healing. It’s a journey through the bitterness of life and attempts to bring out the sweetness in it.

Firstly, a confession: I’ve never really read poetry before. I’ve been forced to analyse poetry in school where we had very bad teaching and this completely put me off poetry and I pretty much swore never to look at it again. But recently I’ve taken an interest in poetry and this particular collection is raved about by basically everyone. So I decided to give it ago.

It. Was. Stunning. I absolutely loved it. The writing was so pure and honest and it was absolutely beautiful. It made me realise how powerful poetry is and how it can make you feel so many things all at once. I could feel everything Rupi Kaur was probably feeling as she wrote this. It’s one of those books you’ll read but you’ll have to stop and just sort of gasp softly as you stare at the ceiling. The illustrations that accompany the words are also so beautiful and simplistic. I got through this book in probably just over an hour but that was with me reading very carefully as I folded down the corners of my favourite parts. Since finishing it, I don’t think I’ve quite stopped thinking about it which is why I’m giving it 5 stars. It’s honestly just perfection.

I think this is also such an important read. The poet’s voice is so wise and experienced and I think everyone could learn something from reading this. I learnt things about love and life but also about society and feminism, just small things that are put into words so exquisitely. I think I had goosebumps as I was reading this, it just took my breath away. I think it would actually be the perfect thing to read if you’ve recently been through a break-up or even if you are just feeling a little bit down or depressed. It felt so soft and warm to read and is guaranteed to lift you up. I related to so many parts of it and I consider myself pretty young and inexperienced at life. But it felt so good to read parts and just think, ‘YES, I completely relate to this’.

I loved every bit of this, there are so many memorable bits but here are a few I really liked:

“no it won’t be love at first sight when we meet it’ll be love at first reemberance cause i’ve seen you in my mother’s eyes when she tells me to marry the type of man i’d want to raise my son to be like.”

“i need someone who knows struggle as well as i do someone willing to hold my feet in their lap on days it is too difficult to stand the type of person who gives exactly what i need before i even know i need it the type of lover who hears me even when i do not speak is the type of understanding i demand”

“i don’t know what living a balanced life feels like when i am sad i don’t cry i pour when i am happy i don’t smile i glow when i am angry i don’t yell i burn the good thing about feeling in extremes is when i love i give them wings but perhaps that isn’t such a good thing cause they always tend to leave and you should see me when my heart is broken i don’t grieve i shatter”

I absolutely adore this collection of poetry and it has really transformed how I see poetry. I will definitely read more poetry because I really enjoyed this one. It’s so emotional and powerful and it really amazes me how poets use their words to capture this. I definitely recommend reading this collection if you haven’t already. It’s a great introduction to poetry if you are like me and have never read any poetry before, but also a beautiful read for anyone who wants a little therapy for the heart.