2023 EDIT: Part of my 2023 clear-up, of books I no longer like, or am no longer interested in, or remember well as standing out, or find as special anymore, or I otherwise will not miss.
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
'The stars
The moon
They have all been blown out
You left me in the dark.
No dawn
No day
I'm always in this twilight
In the shadow of your heart.' (Cosmic Love)
Magical, haunting stream of consciousness. Right up my moondust alley.
I like the songs of Florence and the Machine ('Shake it Out' is my absolute favourite), and the lead singer and songwriter, Florence Welch, really sounds like a wonderful and interesting person. Like my teenage self writing songs and poems that are dark and meaningful, or I thought that they were. Florence has talent that shines all the way through - in her music, writing and art. And she's English, like me!
'No more dreaming like a girl
So in love with the wrong world.
Snow White's stitching up the circuit boards
Synapses slipping through the hidden door
Snow White's stitching up your circuit board.' (Blinding)
'Useless Magic' is like Florence's scrapbook, filled with her old notes, photos, drawings, paintings and sketches, as well as Florence and the Machine's song lyrics, which are the finished product. And poems. A beautiful, introspective and gothically-inclined mind that is lost, lonely, scared yet in love with the sadness of the world. It can come up with the most extraordinary images and themes. It's like Deviant Art in the old and mystical book form.
'Useless Magic' is mesmerizing and spellbinding. It can be looked into at any page, any time, and what emerges will... interest you, to say the least.
'Regrets collect like old friends
Here to relive your darkest moments
I can see no way
I can see no way
And all of the ghouls come out to play.
And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself.
I like to keep my issues strong
It's always darkest before the dawn.
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out
Oooh whoa.
Shake it out, shake it out, shake it out, shake it out
Oooh whoa.
And it's hard to dance
With a devil on your back
So shake him off
Oh whoa.' (Shake It Out)
So many positive messages about hope and love for something seemingly weird and macabre as well. Florence Welch is one of my newest heroes. Someone so multi-talented needs to be recognized.
Best quotes:
'2 knives in a gift box.'
'The Amazing Self Destructo Girl:
She's not here to save the world.
If there's a bad decision to be made, you can be sure she'll make it!
If there's a promise to be kept, you can be sure she'll break it.'
'No one is not loved.'
'Become a Beacon.
Keep that flame alive.
The future is within you.
It burns bright in your heart.
Raise your love.
Hold it high.
Let it shine for miles and miles.
You are not alone x.'
'One grand moment is all I ask.'
'A crucifix and the Hollywood sign. At least we'll always have that between us.'
'Too fast for freedom.'
'Passive aggressive cups of tea.'
'I have only ever tried to show you beauty.'
'I see angels everywhere.
They walk the street without their wings.
I met one crying in a hotel bar
Trying to explain things.'
'I could fall in love with a plastic bag, if it paid me some attention.'
'The lazy buttered toast smell of someone you love.'
'Chaos magic.'
'Anti-fuck boy magic magic!'
'My mind has claws and sets of teeth
If left unchecked it will eat and eat:
Depressive Packman.'
'I guess I won't write poetry, I'll just stare at my phone for fucking eternity.'
'Songs can be incredibly prophetic,
Like subconscious warnings
Or messages to myself,
But I often don't know what I'm trying to say till years later.
Or a prediction comes true and I couldn't do anything to stop it,
So it seems like a kind of useless magic.'
'Useless Magic' - A rustic packaged gift from the forests and the city streets and flats. A notebook filled with reality and fairy tales, made interchangeable.
A book by someone who is both an idealist and a realist; a genius.
Final Score: 5/5
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