Previously to reading 'Plot' I've read Rankine's work and how she has observed the world and society through a critical lens, particularly in relation to prejudice, race and discrimination. Thus, 'Plot' felt like quite a departure from what I'm used to. Rankine's writing is far more experimental here as the fragmentary nature of 'Plot' relates the story of a couple having a baby.

The refreshing aspect of 'Plot' is the fact it ends with the baby's birth rather than beginning with it; it is rare to find a book from the mother's perspective which focuses purely on the inner turmoil that comes with pregnancy. Rankine's writing was raw and honest in this regard and adds a much needed voice to poetry focusing on motherhood and pregnancy.

This said, at times the pieces felt too fragmentary to relate to or find meaning within. To me, it felt like so much of this book was still in Rankine's head, not enough had been worked through to work on the page for a variety of readers. Pieces felt as if they required a commentary to truly unlock the experiences they hold. And so, while 'Plot' is an interesting read, it lacks the depth to make it memorable.

A poetry collection that leaves you slightly unsettled, deep in thought and enchanted by the array of vocabulary, Plot certainly doesn't leave you with a literary hole to fill.

A use of language that's displayed throughout with such force, this book is certainly a stunning way to share the fear, anxiety and emotional toll of having a baby - the inside of Liv's brain is put to paper with incredible feeling and certainly feels like something that the author needed to write for herself.

Different styles and techniques allow for the poetry to really grab you, I particularly found the 'boxed' style poems really interesting and unique, however this whole collection is certainly delivering a variety of poetic styles that make for an intriguing read.

However I do think this collection just wasn't for me, I think sometimes it felt confusing and though I appreciate the language and think I have a wide vocabulary, I've never felt so at sea with trying to figure out the meaning sometimes of certain words and fully understand what the intent of the author was.

overall a really thoughtful, emotional collection of poetry.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC for review).

Claudia Rankine has written another uniquely structured book of poetry.Once again I was drawn into her thoughts her world.will be adding Plot to my collection.#netgalley #plot

After previously having read loved Claudia Rankine's "Citizen" and "Don't Let me Be Lonely" I just knew I had to request and read this re-published edition of one of her earlier poetry collections. However, this one sadly really didn't do it for me. I'm sure there was beautiful imagery and intelligent poetic style in there but I couldn't parse it at all. Her newer work is more approachable so I was not expecting to feel this confused. Sadly, it went over my head.

I really enjoyed this because of Claudia Rankine's writing. The way it was written and structured was done really well, and i can't wait to own a physical copy of this to go with the rest of the books I have by Rankine. This kept me gripped all the way through and i would recommend everyone read this!

I know that Citizen is Claudia Rankine’s most well known book, and I certainly want to get to that now, but it is as great to start at the beginning. The way she structured words and plays with form was unique.

Powerful and intricate, Claudia Rankine’s long poem reworks one of fiction’s most basic, recurring plots: a man and a woman meet, marry and then have a child. Each step often painted as inevitable plot progression. Rankine is interested here in exploring the confusions and contradictions often erased in the telling of such stories, naming her couple Liv and Erland after the actors in Ingmar Bergman’s classic Scenes from a Marriage which Bergman partly visualised as airing women’s suppressed feelings and rage. Rankine focuses on Liv, her “emotional landscape” and the conflicting thoughts and sensations stirred by pregnancy, and the possibility it holds of a child she refers to as Ersatz.

For Erland it seems fatherhood is a desirable state, although its practicalities seem daunting. Liv isn’t so sure, for her the presence of something growing within her body manifests as an “estranged interlacing” challenging her fragile sense of self both physically and mentally, forcing an uncomfortable awareness of the leaky boundaries between self and other. This anxiety is intensified by the fact that she’s an artist and she muses on the possible consequences of motherhood for her future. She’s haunted too by the figure of the childless Virginia Woolf, whose drowned body, submerged in the River Ouse becomes an obsession, an image she paints over and over again. She’s equally drawn to the character of the painter Lily Briscoe in Woolf’s To the Lighthouse both somehow speak to her fears and desires, providing an outlet for the expression of ambiguities and uncertainties. Something that there seems to be no space for in the wider world.

Dense, demanding and striking, this is frequently more abstract than the later pieces of hers I’ve encountered. Rankine’s inventive, challenging poem plays with form: from the shape and the layout of the words on the page to the ways in which she incorporates conversations, internal monologue and even dream states. Rankine’s interested too in associations between words, the ways in which seemingly unrelated terms may yet carry “traces” of each other because of their shared sounds or associations – something apparently drawn from Caribbean writing traditions - and I found sections of this worked best read aloud. First published in 2001, it’s a deeply reflective, complex exploration of widespread cultural assumptions about the maternal, gender, creativity and motherhood.

I must admit at first I was not sure about this and the style of writing but once you get used to it it really is an excellent read and has a nice style

To say that I’m a fan of Claudia Rankine is a strange thing because her works often leave me feeling a complicated sense of anger and despair. Still, I am always excited to read new things from her and this was no different.

I’m afraid this went way over my head. The language is beautiful and I was impressed by the style but this was not for me.
Thank you Penguin and Netgalley for the ARC.

Claudia Rankine's Plot was first published in 2001 and is being re-issued by Penguin. It is a poetry collection concerning pregnancy and motherhood. Erland and Liv are at the centre of the piece, and it is Liv's doubts, fears and passions which drive the narrative. Explained as such, Rankine's book sounds rather simple, but it is Rankine's style which truly elevates the work to greater heights. Her style is truly unique, and you either get on board and enjoy the ride, or she will leave you at the wayside.

This is a book which has taken a few days to settle in my thoughts before I felt able to review it. I think it a very fine, beautiful piece of work. It will not be to everyone's taste, but it has certainly driven me to seek out more of her work.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC.

Having been really impressed by Claudia Rankine's previous books - Citizen: An American Lyric and Just Us: An American Conversation - I was excited to try this book, an earlier work of poetry. There's no doubt that Rankine is an excellent writer, but I'm sorry to say I struggled with this, finding it too abstract for my own personal taste.

This is a short book about pregnancy & motherhood in a way I haven't seen it written about before. Liv and Erland are expecting a baby and Liv is reluctant about it. The changes to her body, to their life and lifestyle is hashed out across the pages.

I am historically not great at reviewing poetry and I doubt that my luck is going to change now! I have been planning to read Claudia Rankine's work and this has encouraged me to pick up more of her books.