In the House of Slaves [Paperback]

Evelyn Lau (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lau ( Oedipal Dreams ), a Governor General's Award nominee, bows in here with a slim and anti-climactic gathering of poetry and prose poems. Many droop with ennui. "Take it off, take it all off / wipe the tears that slide glass over your eyes," advises the speaker in "Pressure," as she stands over her gartered and leather-bound sexual prey. In "Nothing is Happening," a similar narrator announces, "In the mirror I do not notice my red lips like an open wound, my / statue-white face or the elegance of my whip twirling in the air." The tired, bored dominatrix--a good idea. But not when language is tired, also, as is too often the case with Lau here. She writes with an apparent aversion to emotion and with a lack of irony that can dull. Strangely, in pieces that frequently suggest sexual violence and despair, some basic force is missing; and pleasure is out the door. Plainly, Lau is capable of better: "I, a girl buttoned in black, supported on chunky heels, / with a face like a purse: the eyes open clasps, / the cheeks willing to yield to the stuffing of a tongue / and more."
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Coach House Pr; 1St Edition edition (April 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0889104689
• ISBN-13: 978-0889104686
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,507,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars in defense of evelyn's poetry..., February 1, 2002

By 

Erren (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the House of Slaves (Paperback)

i love the way she writes about dark subjects, which range from adultery to child abuse...she tries on many masks in her poetry and they are always breathtaking. she is gifted with imagery and many of the poems i could see as clear as paintings as i was reading them. you have a right to criticize her, but i wonder could you do any better? i doubt it. they registered strongly with me on an emotional level. i love artists who dont let political correctness influence their work. evelyn is also a fine novelist, too...

5.0 out of 5 stars Lau's poetry is excellent, June 20, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: In the House of Slaves (Paperback)

Evelyn Lau is a Canadian genius and her poetry is so truthful and wrapped with pain. I love Lau's courage her courage to explore the depths of her agony and despair. She does not hate men Lau is heterosexual for the record. She is just being honest the poems were written when Lau was in her early twenties. Natually when a person is in their early twenties they think differently then when they are an adult.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Same same and more of the same, February 4, 2000

By 

yanipoo - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the House of Slaves (Paperback)

Most people have disturbing sexual experiences some times in thier lifes and yes, Everlyn Lau's were worse than most. Men do treat women with disrespect and being the other woman is no fun. Although, I agree with all those premises, and agree that these topics should be explored in poetry, I cannot condone talking about it over and over and over again in the same collection.

If everlyn condenced some of these poems with similar ideas into longer ones, and stopped revisiting the same topics throughout the whole book, I think she could be a good poet. For this collection, she is an immature writer, lacking in experience, and different perspective. Apart from the henious experience she lived through on the streets, that somehow must have -in the Canadian Literary scene- gained her sympathy points, I cannot understand why she is hailed as such a celebrated writer. Decent: yes, great: no.