This book got me thinking big time. I have read it a couple times and still don't quite yet understand what is being written. Maybe tis book was way over my head but its still good. I have never read this kind of poetry and verse. I may have to read it again. Its just to weird for me.

I received a free copy.of the book and is voluntarily writing a review

A haunting read. Milk Sickness feels like trying to have a conversation with someone when you're on a lot of cough medicine. It's hazy and twisting but it's interesting and leaves you wanting more. I found the formatting a little lack but otherwise it was an enchanting experience.

A line that stands out to me:
"There is not one horse left to graze in the field, so the girl populates it with cardboard replicas of horses. No one can tell the difference and everyone cheers for hours."

the imagery this book builds through the building blocks of twisted images is something I could only describe as delightfully bizarre. From "He prays to the altar of teenage wet dreams" to "she births three children of her own. the oldest a girl,t he youngest a boy, the middle a knife", the story fills in the gaps left behind with the simplicity of its language with the oozing, uncomfortable background noise of this world. I would say that this is not necessarily a story with a message, but more of something to read for the sake of enjoying the experience as well as the ways we can manipulate the English language. Not for everyone, but certainly for me.

This collection is a beautiful, short story of a poetry collection. The summary is accurate for calling it a "book borne of its nouns", and I felt that it balanced the lack of clear plot by giving us a great atmosphere, similar to "This is How You Lose the Time War". It doesn't overstay its welcome, giving nearly a perfect balance of curious terms which leave you wanting more. "The children have hundreds of words for their hearts disappearing inside a porcelain orchard." The only note I have is that I was not certain what Greenspan was trying to communicate or do with this work? It felt like something of a playground more than a concentrated story, so I didn't feel that there was anything Greenspan was really trying to say. It's important to me within a poetry collection that I feel that the work is effective, and while I did think it was a delightful read, I wouldn't consider it effective at anything in particular. Perhaps it'd benefit from a preface, but this work can definitely be appreciated for what it is. I recommend this if you're a fan of darker, atmospheric works such as "Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones", or if you love the ways English can be manipulated.

Also, the ending is one of my absolute favorites. I love the way it feels.

David Greenspan's writing takes a creative approach, paired with an equally unique use of imagery and details, to tell a story wrought with emotion and growth.

2.5 stars to Milk Sickness. This book was not a favorite of mine. The writer's style, though well-formed and written, is just not for me. May other readers find greater enjoyment of and love for it than I did

This was a bizarre and haunting walk through a nightmare, both beautiful and terrible.
Greenspan uses language like the notes of a theremin, carefully constructing sentences like a composer creates melodies. He uses phrases, that are at the same time laden with and devoid of meaning, to illicit visceral responses in their reader. Just as a composer uses wood, wind, brass and string to paint pictures in the minds of the listeners, using a language most cannot speak, but all can understand.
For those reading this, and trying to make rational sense of it, I think you may be missing the point. To me this is about the way these words make you feel, not what they literally mean. Allow the words to wash over you like music, and you will understand all you need to about what is being said.

I did enjoy the verse format and find this sort of poetry easier to grasp. The beginning of this started off fairly strongly. However as I went along, I'm not sure that anything was really coming together cohesively for me in any way. I wasn't finding any sort of story telling or particular emotion being evoked strongly. It read like a lot of embellished vocabulary.

DNF at 22%

I couldn't understand anything. The imagery was interesting, but the purpose or meaning was lost to me.

"Milk Sickness" consists of hypnotic fragments born from the depths of the author’s mind.

The work presents itself almost like a stream of memories—broken, fleeting, and reminiscent of melancholy dreams that linger just out of reach when you wake. What’s unusual about my experience with this collection is that I can’t point to a specific page or even a handful of lines that stood out as my absolute favorites. Instead, it feels as though the collection as a whole left its mark on me. It’s the kind of book that invites you to get lost in its flowing, stream-of-consciousness style, where the boundaries between thought, emotion, and memory dissolve.