Julia Copus' obvious influence is Sylvia Plath, to whom she even dedicates one of her poems. Like Plath, her poems have a subtle structure that holds back the rage, although sometimes it still escapes. Copus has obviously lived a life in an airless, repressed atmosphere where "Violence bangs round her" ("The Smallest Room"). Time and distance have given her release, but also regret, as when she says, "I wanted...to tell you that we nearly touched./We left before I had time." This book ends all too soon. Copus is not only a mature voice, but an original one as well. I look forward to her future work.