Diving into Lang Leav's Sea of Strangers
Writing a review on a poetry book is admittedly difficult. How does one view, with objective lenses - an experience that was meant to be, for the large part, subjective? Poetry is, after all, an art form, and despite established norms and forms of art criticism, art (and especially post-modern art, a category Sea of Strangers falls into) remains open to different interpretations depending on the critic.
This, then, means that the assertions I make in this review are by no means objective and that this book review is largely based on my subjective interpretation of it, although I will try my best to remain open-minded.
Lang Leav is a bestselling author based in New Zealand and internet sensation with more than 420K Instagram followers, five poetry books, and one novel under her belt. One of her works, Lullabies, won the 2014 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Poetry. In an age that celebrates Instapoets, Lang Leav continues to be a prominent figure. Her work, much of which explores the concepts of love and heartbreak, resonate with a large audience and has become a staple read for many existing subcultures.
Sea of Strangers is a collection of poetry and prose published in January 2018. The snippets of words are no longer than a page long and follow the typical flow of postmodern poetry. Meter, rhythm, and rhyme are rare elements; both poetry and prose rely heavily on imagery and implications. The central theme that Sea of Strangers appears to revolve around is recovery from heartbreak. The tone remains melancholic, introspective, and nostalgic for the whole book as she alternates the focus between her healing and looking forward, and her heartbreak and looking back.
"I will celebrate this life of mine, with or without you. The moon does not need the sun to tell her she is already whole."
- "My Life" (p 73)
One detail that I noticed about Sea of Strangers is that her work is composed of fragments of short poetry and prose instead of a long, continuous piece. This may be because, in the age of the Instapoet where artists have a wider platform to present their work to the audience, smaller chunks are easier to digest. People don't need to read the whole book to be able to relate to the pain and melancholy that it conveys; each work is a stand-alone piece and each work speaks for itself. (It is interesting to note that many modern Instapoets follow this formula: Lang Leav, r.h. Sin, Rupi Kaur, Atticus, and Christopher Pointdexter all write short poetry that retains its meaning regardless of whether it is alone or in a collection of similar works.)
One of the many ideas that Lang Leav explores in this collection is the lingering sadness and the inability to move on. She implies that such feelings are valid, as seen in "No Longer Mine":
"It should be my right to mourn someone who has yet to leave this world but no longer wants to be part of mine."
- "No Longer Mine"(p 179)
She also explores the jealousy that comes with the idea of her ex-significant other loving someone else and the insecurity and bitterness that comes with having lost someone one once held dear.
"[...] Kiss him if you want to;
But keep this in mind -
You are tourist here.
I was his first love
And I'll be his last."
- "Borrowed Love" (p 141)
Alongside other feelings, she explores the pain and loneliness of heartbreak and honestly reflects both the beautiful and ugly. "It's okay to not be okay," her poetry seems to whisper. "Heartache is difficult and healing is a difficult process, but your feelings are valid and you are worth so much more than your pain and one day this scar will fade."
I suppose that this is why many consider her work to be so powerful. The imagery and emotions it means to bring resonate with those who have loved and lost and those who feel the numb pain of heartache. It gives them comfort to see their own feelings articulated so delicately on the page. The work is relatable, and the fact that many others relate to it provides a comforting assurance that they are not alone. People like what they can relate to and a large portion of the population can relate to heartbreak.
With all this being said, I didn't enjoy the book. This is not to say that it isn't a good one; on the contrary, many people have enjoyed it. It has a 3.9/5 rating on Goodreads, a 5/5 rating on Booktopia, a 4.9/5 rating on iTunes/Apple, and a 97% rating from Google users. Sea of Strangers simply wasn't written for me. I'm not at a place in my life where I'm dealing with loss and heartbreak (maybe in a few months when I get my college rejection letters). Because I can't relate to it, it failed to move me, and because it failed to move me, I didn't enjoy reading it. It was painful reading it because some parts dragged on forever and I thought some pieces were mopey and sappy and too, too sad.
My opinion of it shouldn't diminish its value, however. There's a very good reason why it's popular, and I highly recommend it for those going through heartbreak, as it can be a powerful source of comfort. For those of you like me, who simply can't relate, I highly recommend reading something else.
"You talk to me in riddles,
I will answer you in rhyme.
I loved you for a little -
I will love you for all time."
"For All Time," (p 139)