Bunny
Her works having been repeatedly short-listed for the United Kingdom's major poetry awards, Hill (A Little Book of Meat; Violets) finally won the Whitbread Prize for this work. These 72 mostly evocative free-verse poems move from wholesome images of pajamas, tartan rugs, and toothpaste to Dali-like images of frosty thighs primed with Vaseline and giant rabbits. Focusing on an adolescent girl pursued by a mysterious lodger, the book is a poetic variation on Lolita. The poems are written in a stream-of-consciousness style and at first seem childlike. But their tone grows angry and at times reminiscent of Sylvia Plath. Reading them is akin to visiting a fun house where the figures become menacingly alive. The imagery contributes to the surreal atmosphere, as does frequent reference to the color blue a technique that seems somewhat forced with approximately 20 poems mentioning actual and invented shades of that color. Yet while noting everything from headless chickens, to bras made from lobsters, to mirrors resembling flattened eyes, Hill re-creates a nightmarish story of sexual abuse and depression. Recommended for academic and public libraries. Diane Scharper, Towson Univ., Baltimore, MDCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.