More Than Words (40/2020)

 

Title : More Than Words
Author : Zack Shah
Publisher : Penwings Publishing, 2019
No. of Pages : 88

REVIEW 40/2020.

I chanced upon this book at the local bookstore. I love the colour and design of the cover. It looks sweet and artistic. This is the second English poetry book that I have ever had (well, except for the children’s poetry books that I bought for my children).

However, this book is something else.

More Than Words is Zack Shah’s first book. After reading it, I’d say that this young man is very talented. I was made to understand that he wrote these poems and hid the manuscript under his drawer until his talent was spotted by Charissa Ong Ty, who eventually managed to convince him to publish his works.

“A diary, a love letter and a storybook all rolled into one, … from the innocence of young romance to the dangers of desire, all experienced through the entire spectrum of human emotion.” was the description of this book in Goodreads.com. In addition, Google Books claimed that it is the third of Penwing’s product listed in their Best Sellers’ list, nationwide.   

What makes it so special, you might ask?

As I flipped through the pages, the words immediately hit me. Perhaps because I have experienced a couple of heartbreaks before, that I could relate to the poems. They are beautifully written – the rhymes, the words – all blended in very well together. Most of the poems seem like the words were written by a heartbroken lover, who was left by the love of his life. The titles of the poems reflect the contents and what the poems are all about.

The poems are divided into three parts i.e. Sweet Nothings, Pretty Lies and Love Story. Even the Prologue is also a poem!

I cannot really point a finger on one that is my favourite or the one that I like best, because they are all good! They rhyme between paragraphs, even though it is a long paragraph such as Tsunami; and also, line by line such as City Girl; and the usual rhyming poem, like Muse. There are also poems which do not rhyme at all, such as Eye of the Storm and Guardian Angels.   

The poems vary in categories. Mostly they are of heartbreaks and love, of promises and lies, or wonderful moments together and of trying to love oneself. There is one in particular, Denial, which is quite sarcastic, but in a whimsical way.

I would share these poems with you anytime. But that will only spoil the surprise and the beauty of the words. You must buy this book in order to understand it yourself.

For the beauty of it, I rate this book a FIVE star. The first of my reviews.