Customer Reviews

Object Lessons

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I was very pleasantly surprised and pleased by this book. It is certainly one of the best poetry collections I've ever read, and I've read many poets and many poems. What immediately draws you in about Soleil's work is its intelligent yet refreshingly accessible and readable style, and at the same time its highly intimate and personal subject-matter, very confessional and autobiographical. Some of the subject-matter will be shocking even by contemporary standards, but as the author himself explains, his real intent isn't merely to shock or to write dirt for dirt's sake, but rather, to express himself creatively and share his impressions about aspects of his life with the reader. Besides, attitudes in the West continue to become more relaxed, more enlightened, and we're a far-cry from the uptight, conservative '80s. Soleil's "Object Lessons" is in the tradition of Charles Bukowski, yet completely original. It has the potential to be (and deserves to be) an underground cult classic like Allen Ginsberg's "Howl", which is perhaps a much more well-known but far less readable and far more outdated work. So what is Oz du Soleil's work really about? Well, if u like to read about how wonderful everything is and how nice the flowers smell in spring, LOOK ELSEWHERE. These poems are unabashedly honest and explicit about how they deal with more daring topics, like the author's sexual interests, including frequenting sex clubs, porn, masturbation, etc, not to mention his preference for full-figured women over the anorexic magazine model. But its not all about sex and erections and "tuna-eating", there's also a lot of other things he talks about, including just regular friendship, especially with women. His use of language is unique and grips your interest. All thoughout, one gets a sense of an outsider, someone who has not quite fit in. Why? Because Soleil is an individualist, a moral nonconformist, a social radical, and an artistic original. Such people always have difficulty in the "real world" becuase they refuse to compromise and conform more than they absolutely have to, they just wanna be themselves and experiment with darker or more daring aspects of reality, even taboo reality. It is also clear from the persona in this work that the author is very human, a person with clarity, sanity, wit, emotions and intellect, not merely a Prozac-medicated, sex-driven, one-dimensional human being. This is Soleil's first published book. I recommend it highly!

This book takes you through a real-life journey of the author. Enjoy the ride as he makes observations regarding that which pleases and that which disgusts him. The candor is refreshing, but not for the faint of heart. I loved this book and get more out of the essays and poems as I read them over and over again.

This book takes you through a real-life journey of the author. Enjoy the ride as he makes observations regarding that which pleases and that which disgusts him. The candor is refreshing, but not for the faint of heart. I loved this book and get more out of the essays and poems as I read them over and over again.

Oz pulls his readers into his poems and invites them to look at life-situations in a different way. His articulate style leads the reader into the depths of Oz's mind. His style and use of language is unique and refreshing.

Object Lessons, was a work of very intimate natures. Very heartfelt and at times revealed the authors cords of gentle and justified frustration while seeking solutions to the myriad of questions about manhood, sexuality, relationships and life in general.

As a woman, I was given a precious peek into a world seen through the eyes of one man where the walls of codes,secrecies and deceptions were temporarily opened. I was made to feel that his journey is shared by many men but remains unspoken for many reasons.

I encourage the author to continue exposing this world to women and men so that we may come into a greater understanding of one another. Not by socialized programming, but by helping each other set aside our fears and appreciating the unique qualities that we all have to offer.

When I finished Mr. du Soleil's "Object Lessons," I had to sit back, take a deep breath, and reflect on what had just hit me. His collection will anger and shock at times.... intrigue and please at others; but above all it will touch us, at the deepest levels.

Its messages dissect our humanity, our artifice, our emotions, our shallowness... but in so doing, it lays bare the core of hope through self-analysis and self-discovery. The casual reader may penetrate no further than a veneer of misanthropy if not nihilism. No, there is much more to this man and his insights, and it's there for the taking.

Mr. du Soleil writes with a power which is at times controlled and subtle, other times fully unbridled to stun us into realizing what we are. His insights are disturbing but uncannily accurate. I'll be looking eagerly for more of his work. I enjoyed "Object Lessons," and give it my highest recommendation.

I had to digest this book very slowly. At first glance the images are gross. But after giving them consideration I find that the author has done a great deal of thinking and his point of view is quite unique. The book tends to make one think and forces one to travel outside the boundries of genteel comfort stretching the mind beyond convention and the generally accepted norm. Is this a broader reality? Do we see here more of what is hiding under the rock or waiting on the far side of the moon? Who knows? It serves like a slap in the face or a long deep look in the mirror.

Object Lessons is a contemporary, post-modern journey through the vicissitudes of life. In the vain of Bukowski, de Sade, Rabelais, and Foucault, it is intellectually poignant, spiritually challenging, and sexually revelatory. Object Lessons is a must read for anyone worthy of their own humanity. That is not to say that Object Lessons has all the answers to life's questions, but this literary ascent elevates to levels that most would cower at even admitting! It confronts the transgressions and doubts that haunt us in this overly deconstrcted, hyper- realistic world, where meaning is no longer capable of being construed beyond one's own experience.

Object Lessons is brillantly wriiten, informative, enlighting and a little sad. The author, whom I have known for years is a extremely handsome, sensitive and talented man. Anticipating new work!!!

A man's oddessey through life's experiences is chronicled in this unique and thoroughly engrossing collection of poetry and essays. The author goes through the rainbow of life's emotions - from the depths of suicidal ideation to elation and finally acceptance of where he's at in his life - right here, right now.

The social commentary very eloquently lauds the praises of misanthropy, and explores the pleasure one is able to give one's self. Relationships, both bad and good, are examined and nothing is held sacred. This book seems to be a genuine peek into the life of the author. OBJECT LESSONS is not for the cowardly, but for the inquisitive, modern reader who wants to view the world through someone else's glasses on for a while...

I feel this book is a must for any well rounded, contemporary bookshelf collection!