This was my first attempt at properly reading poetry, and while I can definitely appreciate the skill and depth that went into Averno, it just wasn't for me. & that hurts.

Louise Glück’s writing is clearly very thoughtful, and I can see why people widely admire her work. The themes of mythology, death, and the afterlife are interesting, all topics that I thought would help pique my interest, but I found it hard to connect with the poems on a personal level in any way at all.

It’s not that the collection of poems aren't great—in fact, it's the opposite–it’s just that poetry might not be for me. That said, I still rate Averno fairly high because I recognise the talent in the writing. If you are a poetry guy, you've got something I wish I had, but for me, it just didn’t click. Hence the mid rating.