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A review by xangemtheelibrarian
It Was Just Another Day in America by Ryan David Ginsberg
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Like many reviewers here, I saw Ginsberg advertising his debut collection on TikTok and wanted to support him, so I bought it! It helps that the premise behind this collection was so interesting. I will say I am more of a short story fan than a poetry fan, and I did completely miss that there would be poems in this collection until I stumbled across the first one.
The Stories:
I enjoyed them. My favorites are Amber's Son, The Termination Bureau, A Baby is Born, and the title story, It Was Just Another Day in America. These stories specifically had the most emotional impact for me. They felt the closest to a potential dystopian future for America. Ginsberg did really well with these stories.
The Poems:
Again, I am not much of a poetry reader. I have to really be in the mood to read poems. I honestly wasn't, so I might have to try again when I do get an itch for a poetry collection. Most of the poems didn't feel like they fit with the collection though. They were internal reflections and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But I think they would have been better served in an introspective collection rather than a dystopian commentary on America's social, political, and economic issues.
Overall, I am happy I bought this. I want to see Ginsberg write more. And I hope he will.
The Stories:
I enjoyed them. My favorites are Amber's Son, The Termination Bureau, A Baby is Born, and the title story, It Was Just Another Day in America. These stories specifically had the most emotional impact for me. They felt the closest to a potential dystopian future for America. Ginsberg did really well with these stories.
The Poems:
Again, I am not much of a poetry reader. I have to really be in the mood to read poems. I honestly wasn't, so I might have to try again when I do get an itch for a poetry collection. Most of the poems didn't feel like they fit with the collection though. They were internal reflections and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But I think they would have been better served in an introspective collection rather than a dystopian commentary on America's social, political, and economic issues.
Overall, I am happy I bought this. I want to see Ginsberg write more. And I hope he will.