The Sun and Her Flowers - Rupi Kaur

Book Summary: Following Rupi Kaur's huge success with her first collection of work, milk and honey, The Sun and Her Flowers is a long anticipated follow up to the compilation of poetry. The poems explore themes such as love, loss, culture, growth, healing and rebirth.

My Thoughts: I was given this book as a gift from my boyfriend after we had spoken about the insane success of Kaur's first collection of poetry. I really admire and respect her ability to become a huge internet sensation and best selling author virtually overnight, really highlighting the power of social media in catapulting people into fame. On top of that, she's from a minority background and proudly has her Singh name Kaur on the cover, inspiring so many similar women around the world and amplifying the important voices of our generation.

In terms of the actual content itself, I did quite enjoy it to an extent. It had been a while since I had read milk and honey but the themes and storyline was still similar and recurring. Her style is so ridiculously raw and honest, so it's no wonder why the poems have resonated with so many people. The first two collections really explore the loss and depression present at the end of her relationship. It is deeply heartfelt to the point where you can feel her emotions exuding off the page. She does not shy away from the more taboo parts of the relationship, culture and traditions. I loved the entire metaphor of the flower, needing to wilt and finally grow. It was injected sporadically throughout the poems, but fittingly at the end of each chapter.

I say earlier that I enjoyed it to an extent because it felt at time a little 'tumblr-esque'. At times, it felt like the poetry written was similar to existing works already out there online. These nameless prose poems exist on the internet, but perhaps she's managed to rework them and put her name against them. Nevertheless, it's a great collection of poems that I did enjoy reading, and hope that others do enjoy the journey of growth and rebirth as she illustrated throughout the anthology.