The poems do not even follow their own rules, with Peterson breaking his rhyme schemes, spelling and alliteration rules, and stanza structures whenever he feels like. The book itself, presented as an oversized hardcover, is a work of art not only as a specimen of the written word, but also as an example of the visual arts and even as a physical item. As a poet myself, to me these poems aren’t able to stand on their own as either individual pieces or without the artwork they’re paired with. However, while it's not structurally like anything else Peterson has written, followers of his work will recognize a common thread. Each poem is readable and charming in a deliberately horrible sort of way, even if the particular word choices or structures may not win any literary awards.

By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising.It's unclear how much collaboration Juliette Fogra had with the author but in an interview she equated him with Saint Anthony being tortured by a demon (an image used in the book) so it can safely be assumed she is infatuated with him sexually. And if you can look past the very shallow conservative politics and unfunny writing, the actual poetry itself is atrocious. His prior books include a deep (and admittedly fairly dry) academic text on mythology and belief structures and two works that fit within (even as they rise above) the self-help genre. The individual children depicted may never have existed (at least under the names they're given in the book), but at the very least they represent an amalgamation of the horrors Peterson has witnessed throughout his career, and that fact alone ought to justify a study of this book. If you enjoy stories about children sexually abused because their parent was gay, or that because their parents didn’t follow traditional values, then you’ve found the right book.

Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. All the poems are short, shallow verses (the rhyme schemes and rhythms are often forced), tend to be nasty rather than funny, and some of them are pretty opaque and muddled in execution and conclusion. He describes this work as something he wrote to 'let off steam' while working with patients who were suffering as the result of these particular traumas which feels incredibly disrespectful.This alphabetical collection of four sentence rhymes revels in the torture of children with no purpose or payoff. Twenty-six hauntingly beautiful portrayals of injustice and suffering, each from the gifted imagination of Juliette Fogra, illustrator of Beyond 12 More Rules of Life . The art initially looked interesting, but I wonder where the photos are from: the Y page is a lift of a photo of Siouxsie Sioux (taken in Holland Park West London 1981).

But that just further adds to the dark humor embedded within the book's pages, because though its characters are children and though it borrows its format from children's literature, it's anything but a work for young ones.In the promotional video for this book, Peterson says that his goal was to "investigate the nexus between beauty and tragedy and humor".