Night Sleeps in Berlin

Night Sleeps in Berlin is a book of poetry filled with surprises on many levels. Every poem begins an unexpected journey whose only certainty is that the poet will deftly guide the reader through it with consummate artistry. Its conclusion will leave evocative feelings and often lingering questions about its significance for the reader, who may find that the experience it relates is a common one. The poems of the book cover different subjects, themes, tones and moods. Some are stories, others memories, meditative reflections, personal experiences, and one is even a brief, light philosophical discussion. The speakers may be the poet or an anonymous individual, and it is not uncommon for events affecting the narrator to occur during the telling of the poem. The two poems whose titles are incorporated in the title of the book illustrate these unpredictable characteristics. "Night Sleeps" is an imaginative, metaphorical narrative which leaves its possible applications to reality up to the reader. By contrast, the long poem "Berlin" combines memories, stories, and reflections on history as they impact all of us. The most personal poems in Night Sleeps in Berlin ground the book, poignantly depicting love for wife, child and mother, but also grief and the troubles of a failed marriage. "In Praise of Basmati" extolls the importance of friendship and the comfort it can give us. So, the book touches on important aspects of what it means to be human. Shifts in perspective and focus often occur in poems. "Night Sleeps" begins with a description of the narrator experiencing the "night" inside him during the day and after dark, then moves on to a dialogue between the speaker and the city he lives in, his experience of the country, and a conversation between him and a river. Yet Tharaud succeeds in weaving all this into a coherent, moving whole. "Berlin" begins with a description of the wonder of life interwoven with the suffering from the covid pandemic only a short distance from his apartment. That is followed by descriptions his parents' experiences during World War II—one more familiar than the pandemic, which the poet characterizes as a war. It addresses the plight of refugees trying to reach Berlin. The poem's stories, united by the voice of the poet, culminate with a depiction of how imagination can help us cope with an uncertain future. Although the poem makes frequent references to historical events and literature, they do not hinder readers who do not spot or understand them—but enrich the experience of those who do. The short poem "The Unveiling" poignantly describes an informal ceremony that takes place when the headstone of a grave is unveiled and relatives and friends speak about the deceased. The poet cannot actually hear what is said as he stands apart holding his baby, who laughs and hiccups. But the significance of the occasion is marked by connections he draws between the mystery of mortality, his child, the surrounding cemetery, and a time before we had language. The book's poems incorporate wit, much of it sly, as well as broader humor. This is true even of remarks in "Berlin," which focuses on events and memories that are anything but humorous. At one point the poet pauses to remark that James Joyce "has nothing on this." "Crime" is a comic tale that combines and makes fun of recognizable occurrences in many crime shows and movies. Perhaps the greatest surprise of Night Sleeps in Berlin is that Tharaud succeeds in marshalling all of these qualities into a volume of only 40 poems. Its richness ensures that virtually any reader can find in it poems to relate to – and reread. It will make a fine gift for anyone who enjoys poetry.