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"𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑𝒔 𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒆"

“When The Night Agrees To Speak To Me” is a short collection of poetry and prose written originally in French by Ananda Devi and then translated into English by Kazim Ali. Both versions appear side by side in this book and, even though I cannot read or speak French, it was interesting to see the original text.

In some parts, the flow of the writing doesn’t always feel “right” but this is just the inevitability of concepts being ‘lost in translation’ and is worth looking past to enjoy a deep and moving piece of literature.

Devi’s poetry is quite abstract and contains alluring imagery of a hard-hitting truths we may not always wish to face. She portrays immense heartache, anger and other difficult emotions with flare and beautiful simplicity and I found it very relatable.

Her prose pieces are a bit more concrete and feature her questioning our blind obedience to people in power. You can feel her frustrations surrounding our lack of true freedom and she touches on the influence that increasing propaganda has on our lives.

At the end of Devi’s collection, Ali writes on how he came across Devi’s work and his process of translating it. Following this is an interview with Devi herself. This offers an intriguing insight into meanings behind her work as well as a look into her background and approaches to writing.

I really enjoyed this read and would definitely recommend it.

Thank you to Net Galley for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this. The poetry was rich and beautiful, I especially loved the longer form poems starting with 'Words Die a Slow Death.

I think the ebook suffered from some formatting issues which I expect would not be present in a print version however. I appreciated that the original French was included with the English translation, I can't really read French but I liked the opportunity to refer and compare between the two. I also enjoyed the interview with Devi and the additional context provided towards the end of the book. I could have read 500 more pages of Devi's thoughts and the process behind her writing.

I'd have preferred to have some of the contextual information at the start so I'd read it before reading the poems, but it was still nice to have it at all and to see how closely the translator worked with Devi to try and convey the spirit of the poems in the translation.

There were a few poems in this collection that lept out at me. I do think that some of the impact was possibly lost in translation, but I still found it to be haunting and beautiful.

There was only one line that I liked through this whole poetry collection. It was hard to read but that might be because of the translation. The poetry collection had the original and translation to English.

When The Night Agrees To Speak With Me is a powerful if short work of poetry and prose. I really enjoyed the poems and loved that the original French was also kept in the book (translation). While I don’t understand much French myself, I feel like especially in poetry it can be helpful to have the original next to the translation, so people who speak both languages can get a feel on both. I find poetry especially hard to translate myself as rhythm and intonation tend to change across languages, which can change the entire meaning and perception of the poem.
About half of the book were interviews with the author, translator and an analysis/interpretation of the collection. While those were interesting, it was not something I expected, especially not taking up roughly half of the entire book, but I can see the relevance of it.

All in all an interesting read I can recommend.

What a heartfelt, sincere, and flesh cutting poetry collection! It feels like a muted scream in the nighttime or an entrails ripping struggle to cherish life despite its horrors.
The Devi’s poems in French are exquisite, reaching beyond expectations. Their translations tend to do them justice although some toned them down a little.

These poems were really raw. I usually find myself zoning out or getting list with some poetry but that wasn't the case with Devi's work.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This was a beautifully written collection. I really enjoyed the poems. I also thought the language and emotional impact translated beautifully from French. I will be purchasing this for my shelves.

"Poetry is our vein a door without it words die a slow death."

I'm firm believer of — Something is lost in translation. I guess that's what happened with when the night agrees to speak to me, Not at fault of author or translator. It is just how it is. These set of poems did not impress me as they should have.

I picked it because I have heard about Ananda Devi, she is an Mauritian Indian who predominantly writes in French, since about 4 decades. Her poems are different from the usual stuff I have read so definitely good but I could not engage with them as I hoped to.


Some of my favourite lines

"The bolts are broken

The door swings open

Forever impossible

That first step outside of myself."

I liked 4 liners better than long poems, Except when night agrees to speak to me which is my favourite.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins publisher India for ARC in exchange of an honest review.

A mixture of poems and prose. Having really enjoyed Eve Out of Her Ruins, I had high expectations from this book.
Wasn't all bad but I'm a bit let down nonetheless.

When The Night Agrees To Speak To Me is a collection of poetry and prose, written in French by Ananda Devi and translated into English by Kazim Ali. Ali's translation undoubtedly captures Devi's voice and it was a pleasure to read more about Ali's process as well as his interview with Devi at the end of this collection.

The first half of the collection (the poems) were hit or miss for me - with a mixture of striking imagery and cliched lines. Devi is talented as is Ali but I struggled with the rise and fall of these poems, how repetitive some felt, and how some simply lacked memorability. The second half (the prose) was far more enjoyable - more abstract in nature, Devi's prose is unique and visceral. It is here, I'm sure, that Ali's translation really does Devi's work justice too.

I really loved this collection, and the interview at the end was so insightful. As someone who only knows one language, hearing a trilingual creative talk about their relationship with language was thought-provoking and touching.

As a lover of translated literature, I was so excited to read this book. The theme of the book is unique and interesting. There are poems that I loved and felt connected with. But overall, it didn't leave much impact. I was unable to connect with most of the poems and it didn't resonated with me. I was unable to finish the book. Maybe I'll revisit it again in the future and be able to grasp the meaning.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #HarperCollins publishers (India) for this arc of #Whenthenightagreestospeaktome for an honest review.

This short, autobiographical volume of poetry certainly packs a hefty punch. It is published with the original French poem and followed by the English translation, by Kazim Ali. Devi adeptly rages against politics, aging, our identity and sexuality. My favourite poems were Skin and the titular poem.

I love how raw and angry some of the poem in this book, and so political. But I think I enjoyed more the interview of Ananda Devi on the last part of the book than the poems. But still, love this book.

This collection of poems is provided in the original French and then the translated English, which I think would be helpful to someone who can read both languages. I know the translator worked closely with the author, but sometimes I have a harder time connecting to poetry that has been translated as I feel the intricacy can get lost.

These poems touch on a lot of dark concepts, but I liked the variety in length and tone within each poem. I particularly connected to 13 and Skin, the latter touching on the way our bodies are viewed based on what our skin “does.” Overall, I am glad to have read these poems but definitely recommend checking any trigger warnings before reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ein wunderschöner Gedichtband, der zum nachdenken und innehalten Anregt. Nichts was man in einem durchlesen kann... eher zum teilen diskutieren und fühlen :)

I read this book in one sitting and I had so much feelings aboutnit. at some point this book is so relatable to my reality which made want to turn the page quickly. highly recommended!!

This is a heart wrenching, beautiful poetry collection that captured me entirely but did not leave a lasting impression. I loved that the original French was shown with the English translation. I highly recommend it for a rainy afternoon with a cup of tea and a cozy blanket. It does give Paris park bench vibes, too.

The shorter poems were definitely my favourite ones, that said I think as a whole this collection just wasn’t really for me. I didn’t quite connect to it.
Having it alternate between the French and English translations was a bit annoying for me reading the ebook. I don’t know French at all and while this could be good for someone who wants to learn French, for me it was just a hindrance to my enjoyment overall.