Reviews

Magnolia 木蘭 by Nina Mingya Powles

prettyxliesss's review against another edition

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challenging emotional slow-paced

3.75

starrybooker's review against another edition

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4.0

A beautiful poetry collection about disconnection and home and family and food, I love the way that Nina Mingya Powles uses language and translation to craft these gorgeous descriptions that she anchors to memory and place.

gremlinpride's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

pawswithprose's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

ameliasbooks's review against another edition

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I very often struggle with prose poetry. 

taromilkpng's review against another edition

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2.0

extremely mid,,, despite some moments of self-reflexivity, this book is q orientalizing in its treatment of asia as the wasian diasporic subject's dreamspace & thus projection screen. worse, this book is profoundly, &, with a shocking abundance that i have yet to behold in another book, guilty of what som-mai nguyen has called a "jazz-hands half-nelson device" in diasporic lit in which writers "extrapolate from orthographic coincidence and sprinkle in non-English words to assert unearned authority." the number of times i had to shout "that is NOT true!!!!" @ "explanations" of chinese etymology/definitions while reading this lol

https://astra-mag.com/articles/blunt-force-ethnic-credibility/
read this article instead of this book ... i'm sry...

yekelekey's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

lareinadehades's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

oliviaosley's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective slow-paced

4.25

readmayahread's review against another edition

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4.0

I actually quite liked this. I think I would have preferred to read a physical book though so that I can underline or tab all the parts that I like.

I love the writing. It's pretty effective in evoking memories of my childhood and helps put my own thoughts in words.

I love the mentions of Mulan and Princess Mononoke. Two strong female characters that I like.