Book Review: Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit

Liar, Liar, Lick, Spit
By Emma Neale
Review by Claudia

Emma Neale is a poet for people who love detail, verging almost on maximalism. This collection is loosely themed around lying – both the act and its impact. On the heavy end of life’s spectrum, there are poems about tragedy, sexual assault, climate change and absent parents. And on the lighter end, there are poems about the schoolyard, trying to hide chocolate from one’s self, cryptids and tuning the piano. Neale’s writing is like those decadent liquor-filled chocolates that proliferate around the festival season. You put one in your mouth and think, “Oh lovely, a nice little bit of dark chocolate,” and then you pierce the softening shell and suddenly that boozy, sugary flavour fills your mouth. Some stand-out poems for this effect include “Horn” and “Genealogy”. I recommend for fans of Meat Lovers by Rebecca Hawkes.