Both intensely personal and deeply rooted in recognizable events of personal, familial or national significance, "The Afterlife of Objects" is a kind of dreamed autobiography. With poise and skill, Dan Chiasson divulges the enigmas of the mind of not just one individual but of an entire social world through a beautifully constructed poetic voice that issues from a kind of mythic childhood of our collective, tortured humanity. This sophisticated debut collection offers, deceptively simple poems that evoke highly complex states of mind with a voice that has long been listening to the discordant music of contemporary life.