Amazon UK Book Reviews: A Square Peg in a Round World: A Journey in Verse: Amazon.co.uk: Liles, Clifford: 9781916910379: Books
***** 5 out of 5 stars
A rich collection of beautiful poems
This is a book of beautifully crafted poems and although I have not yet read them all I have enjoyed the ones I have read immensely. I found I needed time to read and re-read each poem to savour the rich tapestry of words and process the many levels each contained. It will be a book I return to for many years to come. A book to be treasured and would make a perfect gift. I loved it and highly recommend it.
***** 5 out of 5 stars
I had the funny feeling when I read these poems that they would work well as a film — not as a set of disconnected scenes but as the development of the themes and the characters involved. The mood and the ideas reflect today’s disturbing environment from the contrast between the sparkling rich and the grey poor (as in Out of My Comfort Zone) and the mountains which we climb (as in Rock) and partly pollute (as in Last Butterfly in Leipzig). The characters are fascinating, and intentionally only fully formed — like figures in Edward Hopper’s painting. You can see their souls out of the corner of your eyes, and you wish you knew more — as in The Whale Watchers. I enjoyed Cliff Liles’s previous volume so much that I could not imagine this one arriving at the same level, which it did.
***** 5 out of 5 stars
Thoroughly recommended!
I have absolutely devoured this new collection of some 50 poems by Clifford Liles. Reading and rereading I have been carrying it everywhere, sometimes reliving moments from my own life (Hide and Seek, A Cure for Trekking, Out Where the Map Folds) and travels (Annapurna, I’m Down), sometimes awakened by fresh perspectives (The Compulsion to Climb, The Rainforests of K’Gari) or reminded of old ( Tilt, Medea).. I have now started buying copies as gifts for anyone who can find a moment to read and reflect…or anyone who should.
Other Comments:
Success! Feedback is appearing from readers who’ve got back to me in an unsolicited way, saying how much they enjoyed the book. These comments are the thing that really makes all my creative work worthwhile. It also makes it easier to sell when I am confident that buyers will very likely enjoy the poems. Everyone seems to find some poems that resonate with them. Several people have gone on to buy copies for relatives and friends. Here are some of the comments:
“Descriptive, evocative, very finely observed, beautiful imagery, great stories, moments of profundity.“
… absolutely lovely … I feel a rawness, connectedness and thrill reading it … akin to Blake, Coleridge, Nicholson …
“i love “Medea”..this is great stuff“
“Your landscapes are always so inviting – you communicate your enthusiasm and love of the wild so well too.“
Clifford Liles 