Book of Longing

April 3, 2006
Renowned singer-songwriter Cohen also boasts a reputation as a writer for the printed page, especially in his native Canada. This capacious collection (his first since 1993's Stranger Music
) compiles musings, jottings, quatrains, brief lyrics, prose meditations and offhand epigrams, along with Cohen's ink drawings and work in his own handwriting. The melancholy Cohen displays both a surface humility and an underlying self-confidence as he reflects on women (as when recalling his seduction of "the most beautiful girl/ on the religious left"), Zen doctrine, his own advancing age (Cohen turned 70 two years ago) and the legacy of the '60s. Many poems feel like his song lyrics: "Sometimes just a list/ Of my events/ Is holier than the Bill of Rights/ And more intense." The volume will get a boost from Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
, a documentary scheduled for theatrical release.

Leonard Cohen, narrating his audiobook of poems, provides listeners an opportunity to hear his unique intonation and pensive tone once more. First published in 2006, this collection features Cohen's thoughts and observations on sexual desire, getting older, and finding the truths in his everyday movements. Throughout, Cohen's voice resonates with intimacy. He notes the beauty of the moon in a passing moment; he finds himself musing on life while driving on a California highway; he feels unabated longing for the women in his life. Cohen's recitation reflects the style in which he approached his music. Cohen fans, especially those mourning his recent death, will find this audiobook an extension of his music, with Cohen focusing us on his gentle rhythms and bleak honesty. S.P.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine