In "Night Sleeps in Berlin," Ross Tharaud gives the reader a wide variety of poems related with consummate artistry. Some are stories, others memories, meditative reflections and personal experiences. He is comfortable and skilled in relating them all. Thus the poem "Night Sleeps" is a metaphorical, imaginative narrative that leaves its application to reality up to the reader. By contrast, the long, masterful poem "Berlin" combines memories of his parents' experiences in World War II with stories and reflections on time and history as they impact individuals. And while "The Unveiling" considers the mysteries of life and mortality as a gravestone is uncovered, "Life Companion" is an affectionate, nonsense description of the poet's cat. The most personal poems in "Night Sleeps in Berlin" poignantly depict love for wife, child and mother – but also grief and memories of a failed marriage. "In Praise of Basmati" extolls the importance of friendship and the comfort it can give us. The book touches on key aspects of what it means to be human. The poems frequently shift their perspectives and focal points. "Night Sleeps" weaves the narrator's experiences of the "night" inside him, his life in the city and the country, and his conversation with a river—all into a coherent, moving whole. The long poem "Berlin" describes life during the covid epidemic, his parents' experiences in World War II, and the plight of refugees, all of which lead to a depiction of how imagination can help us cope with an uncertain future. The poems often take unexpected turns. Most of "Pike Place Market Song" concerns an unidentified older woman facing down an approaching assailant—only at the end do we learn that she is Tharaud's mother and the poem a celebration of her courage. The rich variety of "Night Sleeps in Berlin" makes it difficult to imagine a reader who cannot find poems in it to like -- and reread. It would make an excellent gift for people who enjoy poetry.