Bitmo Sunday book review

Sunday Book Review – #NewRelease, #Poetry by Sally Cronin – Life is Like a Mosaic

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Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m thrilled to be reviewing Sally Cronin’s new release, fresh off the press – Life is Like a Mosaic – Random Fragments in Harmony.

 

Sally is known for her wonderful and heartfelt shortstories and has created this book full of syllabic poetry and beautiful images to highlight her words in story written through her perspective of life. Later in the book, Sally invites us into a peek at her own life – triumphs and challenges written in rhyming prose.

 

 

Blurb:

“Use a picture. It’s worth a thousand words.” Arthur Brisbane 1911.

An image offers an opportunity to see endless possibilities depending on the viewer’s perspective. Where some might see beauty and joy, others imagine sadness and loss of hope.

In this collection, images and syllabic poetry are brought together to tell a story based on the author’s perspective. The poetry explores our human experiences such as love, happiness, hope, aging, friendship, new beginnings, dreams and loss.

The world around us is an amazing playground and source of all our essential needs as well as sensory experiences that bring wonder into our lives. What lies beyond the horizon? What surprises will we discover as a garden bursts into bloom? Where do the night creatures live?

At the end of the collection there are some longer poems celebrating memories of the author’s life of travel, teenage exploits and love of food!

 

My 5 Star Review:

This author is well-known for her heartfelt short stories and poetry alike. Haiku and Tanka syllabic poetry along with beautiful images are used to express stories about life and nature. Sally Cronin knows how to take the reader in, even in short prose, leaving profound messages to savor and to come back and revisit again and again. She touches on several aspects on life and the human condition with stories about aging, friendship, legacy, birthdays, world peace and more.

In the second part of the book, Cronin treats us with some of her own ‘slices of life’, where she shares tidbits in rhyming prose about some of her own challenges and victories in her life, and the lessons that come along with them with her observations. I enjoyed every single story, but I will point out a few that resonated with me along with my short summations:

Our Legacy – A reminder that being kind will add to our legacies

Silver Lining to Isolation – A good reminder that clocks shouldn’t decide how we use our time.

Advancing Years – The passing of time and  what we have to show for it in the end

The Day After – A peaceful day of reckoning when there is no more war

The Air – Giving air a breath

Friendship – Power and weakness

Birthdays – Marked by wrinkles and laughter lines, a life well-lived

Loose Lips – Those friends who can keep secrets is part of a life well-lived

Ageism – Those who are quick to forget where much of invention originated

Scepticism – Otherwise interpreted as ‘fake news’, scattered truths, misleading media, and as the author states, ”planned outcomes”. “Politics, where truth is scattered on the wind.”

Life’s Progression – The marking of time by learning and love

Thanksgiving – Not the holiday, but every day is good for thanks

Immortality-Writers – What we leave behind

Yearning – For the world that once was, pre-pandemic.

The author shares some of her ‘slices of life’ experiences in rhyming prose:

Childhood Memories – Growing up in Ceylon

Summer Holidays – At the beach

Rebellion in Frome – Age 16, the author defies her mother and gets away with it

The Leftovers – Love and acceptance

Farewell to Colourful Friends – Going back to her roots – pun intended.

As I mentioned earlier in this review, this author can tell big stories in minimal words, always encompassing compassion and goodness in her stories and messages. Recommended reading!

 

Visit all of Sally’s books

 

Sally Cronin's Books

 

©DGKaye2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

60 thoughts on “Sunday Book Review – #NewRelease, #Poetry by Sally Cronin – Life is Like a Mosaic”

  3. A wonderful review. I have this sitting on my ereader waiting for me and look forward to reading this book even more after your excellent review. Thanks for sharing, Debby, and congrats to Sally 💕🙂

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  6. I have admired Sally’s writing and have read one or more of her books. Yes, I have long believed a mosaic is a great metaphor for our lives. This is a book I NEED to read. I will share this.

    Thanks for posting this 5* review, Debby!

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  8. how nice to turn the tables and do a review of something Sally has written – she is usually the generous soul reviewing other people’s work. This sounds like a wonderful book; I love the slices of life section…

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  9. What a fantastic review, Debby! This is my next read and I’m even more excited about it after reading this:)

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  16. You list of a few favorites made me laugh, Debby. Some books are like that and it’s just impossible to choose from so many wonderful offerings. I have Sally’s book in my kindle and can’t wait to get started. 🙂 Thanks for the lovely review. Congrats to Sally.

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  19. Deb, this sounds like another amazing book by Sally. I’m adding this to my TBR and just know that I will love it. Congratulations, Sally, on your new release. Thanks for sharing your review, Debby.

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