Yes, another Lang Leav Book. And yes, her latest one. I don’t know what’s with me but when I see Lang Leav’s books. It’s like they have magnet that draws me to them easily. Well, it not as if I didn’t enjoy the three books that I read from her because I really did. It’s just that since I had a god reading experience with her books so far, considering that The Universe of Us is her final book, I want to save it to read at a later date. This just proves one thing, I am really weak when it comes to controlling myself with authors that I love.

Like what I said earlier, I have read all the three poetry books by Lang Leav. I have read the books on a chronological order based on the dates they were released. I was actually in fact half expecting that this book will lose some of its impact to me if I were to consider the level as to how I enjoyed the books as I read each. But man, this fourth book still surprised me. You must be thinking, man you should have already expected that. As much as I would like to say “yes, I agree with you”, but no. Love and Misadventure was really good, Lullabies was good but was not as good as the first for me, Memories was quite a let down as it became only like a compilation of poems from the first and the second books aside from new poems thrown in that I quite enjoyed. And so with this fourth book, I did not expect that this will take me to a different journey. Different from what I experienced when I read the first three books. My adoration for Lang Leav reached a notch higher.

This book speaks about love and longingness, loyalty and trust, hope and aches and people being lost but eventually found. This book still carries those traditional and free verse poems with short-but-throws-a-punch lines, those lyrical and and catchy lines that I really felt connected to and those lines that were simply stated but became so relatable. Reading a Lang Leav Book for me was like treating myself, treating myself with pain and hope at the same time. Her poems are always a mixture of tragedy and optimism. It’s always bittersweet.

This book talks about love in all levels in detail; those who have never been in love, those who are currently in love and those who have fallen out of love. It’s mixed with images of the universe which quite show how universal the theme of love is. With the stars, planets and constellations fused in, this book has this dreamy vibe to it. The poems in the book were so clear and truthful that that it did not become hard for me to understand and appreciate what I am reading. The way she chooses her words and structures her poems really has this very strong impact to me. There were some lines and poems that are really overflowing with emotions proving the power of her description skills.

I’m looking forward to reading more of Lang Leav in the future. Hopefully, she comes up with a poetry book that will not just be all about love probably like humanity for instance. I’m sure people who adore her will also want her to experiment on other themes other than love.

4 stars out of 5.

I’ll end this review with three of my most favorite lines from this book:

“I know there is a terrible distance between us. But our bodies are made of stardust, and we are hurtling through space and time, toward the most beautiful collision.” – The Universe of Us, Lang Leav

“It was a kind love, a selfless love. I was an explorer and you were a traveler. We met at crossroads. I saw love in your smile and I recognized in for the first time in my life. But you had a plane to catch and I’m already home.” – The Universe of Us, Lang Leav

“I’ve never met you before, but I recognize this feeling.” – The Universe of Us, Lang Leav

BOOK SPECIFICATIONS:

Author: Lang Leav
Format: Hardbound
Source: Bought
Part of a Series: No
Release Year: October 2016
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
No. of Pages: 240 pages

About the Author:

The enchanting work of contemporary author and artist Lang Leav swings between the whimsical and woeful, expressing a complexity beneath its child-like facade.

Her imagination stretches across a variety of disciplines encompassing art, poetry and books. She is currently represented by New York literary agent Al Zuckerman from Writers House.

Frequently invited to exhibit at high profile exhibitions locally and overseas, she has since built up a loyal following of international fans. Her handcrafted book, Charlie’s Widow, was presented to iconic film director Tim Burton at the opening of his Wonderland exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image.

Lang is a recipient of The Qantas Spirit of Youth Award and was later granted a coveted Churchill Fellowship. Her fashion label Akina has achieved critical and commercial success, stocked in key boutiques around Australia and later in cutting edge Harajuku, Japan.

She has completed shows in several cities including Santa Monica for the renowned Copro gallery; who have worked with artists such as Mark Ryden and Audrey Kawasaki. She was hand-picked to exhibit in the landmark ‘Playboy Redux’ curated by The Warhol Museum and Playboy Enterprises; alongside contemporary greats such as Gary Baseman and Tara McPherson.

In 2013, Lang launched her latest book Love & Misadventure, published in the US by Andrews McMeel. The Amazon #1 Bestseller is now available from major bookstores worldwide including Barnes & Noble, Kinokuniya, Fully Booked, Waterstones, Periplus and Chapters/Indigo.

(Image courtesy of Philstar/ Text courtesy of Goodreads)