Written by J.L.
Picture below: Author with her book
Information
Author: Rupi Kaur / Genre: Poetry, romance / Published: 2017
Summary
The Sun and her Flowers is a poetry book by Rupi Kaur, an Indian-Canadian author. This book expresses Kaur's self-discovery by guiding the reader through all of the hardships she experienced and how it has impacted her development as a person. Kaur focuses on her femininity as she relates it to how it has influenced her growth. These poems represented both love and grief as many poems were about how the author both grew and healed from her past relationships. However, this book wasn't necessarily limited to romantic love, many poems were about the lack of parental love and platonic relationships. Kaur illustrates her life using the simplest of words, and by evoking a combination of bitterness and contentment.
How this Book Relates to the Modern World
This book gives an insight into the hardships women in the 21st-century face throughout their life. The 5 parts of this book: wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and bloom; represent the different phases a woman will experience in order to blossom. It also expresses the disadvantages women face in her poems, Kaur mentions female infanticide and immigration to illustrate the adversity she and other women have experienced. Kaur illustrates how much inequality is still present in our modern world as she touches on the topic of sexism, sexual assault, and racism.
Why the Book Should be Read in Schools
I believe we should include this book in our school curriculum as this book is very relatable, especially for teenage audiences. The depth of the poems in "The Sun and Her Flowers" is so convoluted that it would be a great book to analyze during the poetry unit in High School Language Arts. It expresses how much grief is associated with self-growth and will help students feel validated about how the discovery of their identity often leads to confusion.
Rating
Personally, I found this book overall an interesting read as it was easy to relate to. I would recommend this book to others, especially those who are feeling conflicted about their identity.
I love how the book is organized into parts; the way that each one is titled in relation to a flower’s life cycle is really creative and unique!
I really like how this book would be relatable to some people's experiences and lets some people know that they aren't alone and poetry definitely sounds really cool! :D