“You excel at hating, you excel / at untrammeled feelings, // mostly ugly, though also / generosity, and sacrifice // which can, at times, make / ugly things happen.” There is much to love in Elisa Gonzalez’s debut poetry collection Grand Tour, out in September: an emotional depth that is deeply affecting but never contrived; a mastery of reflexive turns that speaks to how self-aware Gonzalez’s craft is; a tone that dances the line between between banal and epic, personal and universal mythologies. Many of the poems are palpably awash in grief, like ‘After My Brother’s Death, I Reflect on the Iliad’, while others play with religious trauma and “The usual visions of hell.” There is a directness to Gonzalez address that could be off-putting, a staring contest of sorts, but instead it’s captivating: “Reader, I want you to know you are reading a poem. // What is the point of talking otherwise?”; “The Editor would delete all of this, would save me from my propensity to humiliate myself. But I have a young man’s mind, deranged with desire.” There is also a haunted quality to some of the poems, a kind of cursed knowledge: “Why did I leave loyalty’s elegant rooms?”; “I am horribly in love. When we take shelter under a balcony, I say, / We could be each other's great tragedies had the world not slaked us already”. The “duelists” bit in ‘To My Thirteen-Year-Old Self’ poem cut straight through to how it felt — how I felt — to wage a cosmic battle with the most mundane and human antagonist, the father, while ‘Puente de Piedra’ is maybe one of the most arresting poems I have read in a long time. “*To survive* is to pray this interstice repeats every morning for the / rest of my otherwise unendurable life.”

Thank you Netgalley and the publishing house for allowing me to read this poetry collection.
It's a shame I didn't really like this. The writing style wasn't intriguing and jut wasn't my type of book.

I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A compelling portrait of youth, innocence, and the process of growing up, told through deeply meaningful verse with edifying allusions to the classics. I especially enjoyed the poems "The Mountain Lion", "Present Wonders", and "Home". The collection blends heartwrenching tragedy with stubborn, burning resilience. Gonzalez writes with sympathy for the rebelliousness of youth, especially in the poem "The Mountain Lion". Childhood disobedience is not a force to be sternly corrected, but rather a source of meaningful resistance. The present is "shadowed", Gonzalez writes, and although they are powerless against larger forces, the fire of their anger - insistent and righteous - refuses to go out.

I really liked this collection of poetry, the poems are heartfelt and their form is very interesting at times. I love the cover.

Eliza Gonzalez balances insight and self-awareness in her debut collection. Although what I'm calling self-awareness sometimes verges on being obtuse and academic, I really enjoyed the flow of these poems, the compounding image they create, and the occasional challenges in language and philosophy that appear in some of the poems. At once I think a reader would enjoy reading more of Gonzalez's work and perhaps leaner versions of the poems included here, but I think there is much to gained by rereading this collection and soaking in its colors.

"Failed Essay on Privilege" is still my favorite.

strongly direct in a style reminiscent of cavafy’s, gonzalez’s poetry invokes stunning imagery that makes scenes from daily life brim with energy, emotion, and beauty. though the occasional poem feels out of place in the bigger picture, most of this collection delves into difficult emotions with stark honesty and depicts even the lowest points of life with immense empathy.

this was a great poetry debut from Eliza Gonzalez!
I loved the classic and greek themes, mixed in with the love, desire and grief, it really hit me in the feels at times. I found it moved well, but was also really well written. I’m looking forward to reading more of her work.

thank you to the lads at FSG and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book

The poems are surprising, compelling, and a joy to read-- I read the book in a sitting, curious to see how each would and could build on the next, pulled into the world that Gonzalez built.

A really great debut from Elisa Gonzalez!

There were parts of this collection that just sang. I really liked all of the references to classics and the descending self-portrait poems. They’re introspective and vivid. Her command of language is evident and she manages to weave a number of themes together well.

Thanks to FSG and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this. Being introduced to new poets is always such a highlight.

There are nods to classical literature, but with a "more familiar" (in a good way) perspective; the symbolism of ancestors, and small existential moments.

This debut so clearly illustrates the power of poetry. In my Poetry Month column for Ms. Magazine, I used three words to describe it: transformation, transparency, transcendence.

https://msmagazine.com/2023/04/20/best-poetry-2023-feminist-women-lgbtq-writers/

Agh, I am so thankful to FSG and NetGalley for granting me advanced digital access to Grand Tour by Elisa Gonzalez before it publishes on September 19, 2023 and I am so eager and gracious to read more Eliza Gonzalez's work, because I was so captivated by her austere authenticity with each passing prose. Written with beauty and fine complexity, Gonzalez narrates probable personal narratives into words that flow like honey, soft and thick down the throat, locking the reader in for what's to come.

A beautiful and impressive collection of enthralling and moving poetry. The themes I picked up on the most include love, suffering, and desire.

There is much to love about the writing - it is energetic and evocative. I especially enjoyed After My Brother’s Death, I Reflect on the Iliad, Failed Essay on Privilege, Tornado in August, First Tuesday in May, The Night Before I Leave Home, Secret and Invisible Folds into the Visible, Grand Tour, and To My Thirteen-Year Old Self.

Recommended to anyone looking for an exciting debut.

Thank you very much to Farrar, Straus and Giroux @fsgbooks and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

Grand Tour by Elisa Gonzalez is a remarkable debut collection of poetry that explores the complexity of life through the lens of the poet's personal experiences. Gonzalez's writing style is captivating and her ability to express her thoughts and emotions in a way that resonates with the reader is remarkable.

The poems in Grand Tour are rich and layered, capturing the full spectrum of human emotion. From the small moments of everyday life to the grand questions of existence, Gonzalez's poetry is a beautiful and haunting portrayal of the human experience. The collection takes the reader on a journey through the poet's life, moving seamlessly between elegy, romantic encounters, family history, and place.

What makes Grand Tour truly exceptional is Gonzalez's ability to grapple with the complex and often contradictory nature of life. She explores the tension between love and pain, beauty and ugliness, hope and despair. Through her poetry, she reminds us of the fragility of life and the sustaining power of our questions.

Overall, Grand Tour is a stunning debut collection that leaves a lasting impression on the reader. Gonzalez is a poet to watch, and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

Well-written poems with a fair amount of classics references. Proms about family history and relation to ancestry, a sense of place, love, and the small moments of life.