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nuhafariha's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.75
Thanks University of Nebraska and NetGalley for the Reader's Copy!
Available now!
Susan Nguyen's "Diar Diaspora" is a tender, meticulous letter to a lost generation. Switching between Suzi, a second generation Vietnamese American, and her father, a first generation Vietnamese immigrant, we see how much trauma can shift and travel. Using first hand encounters, newspaper headlines, and research, Nguyen guides through the end of.the Vietnamese War and its aftershocks including mass punishment, the Vietnamese Boat People, American xenophobia and more. At a time when the fate of refugees around the globe seems more precarious than ever before, Nguyen's poetry is worth reading with keen eyes and an open heart.
Available now!
Susan Nguyen's "Diar Diaspora" is a tender, meticulous letter to a lost generation. Switching between Suzi, a second generation Vietnamese American, and her father, a first generation Vietnamese immigrant, we see how much trauma can shift and travel. Using first hand encounters, newspaper headlines, and research, Nguyen guides through the end of.the Vietnamese War and its aftershocks including mass punishment, the Vietnamese Boat People, American xenophobia and more. At a time when the fate of refugees around the globe seems more precarious than ever before, Nguyen's poetry is worth reading with keen eyes and an open heart.
mahaelsiah's review
2.0
This book talks about grief, maturing, immigration, identity, etc. Truly, I was entirely taken aback by this book because it’s so fascinating. Initially, I could not find the words to describe it because it’s so unique and, personally, very hard for me to categorize. But, its style and language was definitely new to me and I would recommend it for anybody wanting to branch out from their usual reading choices.
My only complaint is: I believe some parts of it could’ve been edited / remastered to become more personal / emotional. At times, it became a little monotonous and it needed a more intimate touch.
All in all, I love this book and it gave me the pleasure of that furrowing your eyebrows kind-of-confusion and continuing to read nevertheless to discover what it is that had long been unknown to you.
My only complaint is: I believe some parts of it could’ve been edited / remastered to become more personal / emotional. At times, it became a little monotonous and it needed a more intimate touch.
All in all, I love this book and it gave me the pleasure of that furrowing your eyebrows kind-of-confusion and continuing to read nevertheless to discover what it is that had long been unknown to you.
ariatari's review
4.0
This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
Overall, I enjoyed the fresh perspective that this book gives into the experience of a Vietnamese immigrant family in America. The poems were raw and emotional in the best possible ways. They were so captivating that I hardly realized that I read this in one sitting.
This is the debut collection of Susan Nguyen, and considering what I read here, I can hardly wait to see what else she creates in the future!
Overall, I enjoyed the fresh perspective that this book gives into the experience of a Vietnamese immigrant family in America. The poems were raw and emotional in the best possible ways. They were so captivating that I hardly realized that I read this in one sitting.
This is the debut collection of Susan Nguyen, and considering what I read here, I can hardly wait to see what else she creates in the future!
rebecaaa's review
4.0
I have so much work to do so I don't know why I'm writing this review but I rlly enjoyed this collection. I loved the poem "Grief as a Series of Questions" and all of the green imagery. "The First Language" was gorgeous as well!
brittmariasbooks's review
4.0
3.5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and University of Nebraska Press for providing me with an ARC copy of Dear Diaspora.
Dear Diaspora introduces us to Suzi: ripping her leg hairs out with duct tape, praying for ecstasy during Sunday mass, dreaming up a language for buried familial trauma and discovering that such a language may not exist. Through a collage of lyric, documentary, and epistolary poems, we follow Suzi as she untangles intergenerational grief and her father’s disappearance while climbing trees to stare at the colour green and wishing that she wore Lucy Liu’s freckles. Winner of the Raz/Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry, Dear Diaspora scrutinizes our turning away from the trauma of our past and our complicity in its erasure. Suzi, caught between enjoying a rundown American adolescence and living with the inheritances of war, attempts to unravel her own inherited grief as she explores the multiplicities of identity and selfhood against the backdrop of the Vietnamese diaspora. In its deliberate interweaving of voices, Dear Diaspora explores Suzi’s journey while bringing to light other incarnations of the refugee experience.
I am aware these poems were not written for me but I think they were still important to read and enjoy.
Thank you to Netgalley and University of Nebraska Press for providing me with an ARC copy of Dear Diaspora.
Dear Diaspora introduces us to Suzi: ripping her leg hairs out with duct tape, praying for ecstasy during Sunday mass, dreaming up a language for buried familial trauma and discovering that such a language may not exist. Through a collage of lyric, documentary, and epistolary poems, we follow Suzi as she untangles intergenerational grief and her father’s disappearance while climbing trees to stare at the colour green and wishing that she wore Lucy Liu’s freckles. Winner of the Raz/Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry, Dear Diaspora scrutinizes our turning away from the trauma of our past and our complicity in its erasure. Suzi, caught between enjoying a rundown American adolescence and living with the inheritances of war, attempts to unravel her own inherited grief as she explores the multiplicities of identity and selfhood against the backdrop of the Vietnamese diaspora. In its deliberate interweaving of voices, Dear Diaspora explores Suzi’s journey while bringing to light other incarnations of the refugee experience.
I am aware these poems were not written for me but I think they were still important to read and enjoy.
kyatic's review
3.0
(Review of an ARC received via Netgalley)
Not all poetry collections work for everyone, and I'm perfectly happy to admit that this one just wasn't really for me. I mean that literally; I genuinely think that only people who have a specific diaspora experience will really connect to this one, and that's not a bad thing. It speaks beautifully to that particular experience. Nguyen's language is haunting and evocative, and some of her imagery is so visual that it was almost like watching a film. Some of it was just so abstract that I couldn't grasp it at all, though, and those poems left me wanting. I'm willing to acknowledge that this is most likely entirely a Me problem. Nguyen is an incredibly talented poet, and honestly, I would absolutely devour a novel (even a novel-in-verse!) written from the perspective of Suzi, the mouthpiece character in this collection. Give me a book by Nguyen which has a little more structure and something more tangible for me to grasp, and I'm right there.
Not all poetry collections work for everyone, and I'm perfectly happy to admit that this one just wasn't really for me. I mean that literally; I genuinely think that only people who have a specific diaspora experience will really connect to this one, and that's not a bad thing. It speaks beautifully to that particular experience. Nguyen's language is haunting and evocative, and some of her imagery is so visual that it was almost like watching a film. Some of it was just so abstract that I couldn't grasp it at all, though, and those poems left me wanting. I'm willing to acknowledge that this is most likely entirely a Me problem. Nguyen is an incredibly talented poet, and honestly, I would absolutely devour a novel (even a novel-in-verse!) written from the perspective of Suzi, the mouthpiece character in this collection. Give me a book by Nguyen which has a little more structure and something more tangible for me to grasp, and I'm right there.
heathershectichideaway's review
3.0
This collection of poetry was interesting to say the least. I read it in one sitting as I normally do with poetry collections. I ended up having to go back and read the collection again to gather my thoughts for this review. I feel like the collection was very scattered and hard to follow. I feel like this collection needed more structure so that it was easier to understand where the poet was coming from. I was really hoping for more out of this collection however, I did find a few poems in the collection that I really did enjoy. If the poet writes anymore collections I would try their work again in the future.