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mixedreader's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Sexual assault
studeronomy's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
3.5
This is a thoughtfully organized, well-paced volume of emotional poetry that gets sadder and more visceral as the book moves along. "I am not afraid of sadness," Hieu Minh Nguyen writes in one of the final poems. But by the end, I was pretty sad. Learning how to love other people, learning how to grieve people who aren't even gone yet, learning what it means to have a body (especially a body other people don't like, or that you don't think other people like): these are some of the themes that came up. The poetry itself isn't always as strong as I'd like—I don't have anything else to say about that, really. But the poems pick up and the themes develop like a painful narrative as the volume progresses. The story isn't pretty, but it's honest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Minor: Death of parent
damagedglories's review against another edition
5.0
i am so glad i decided to let a number generator choose my next book as i have found my new favorite poet
bacoexu's review against another edition
5.0
"I have built myself a safer body, covered the rot with rot" 4.5
This book was absolutely beautiful the writing of this Author is so astonishing it was amazing and absolutely mind-blowing the only thing that doesnt make me give it 5.0 is that it was too short if it was a little bit longer it would be really awesome i think the poems was at the same time shallow and deep i needed more.
This book was absolutely beautiful the writing of this Author is so astonishing it was amazing and absolutely mind-blowing the only thing that doesnt make me give it 5.0 is that it was too short if it was a little bit longer it would be really awesome i think the poems was at the same time shallow and deep i needed more.
readingwithstardust's review against another edition
3.0
tw: childhood molestation
I really wanted to like this collection more than I did. Some poems landed for me but most didn't. A little too much body horror metaphor and other assorted metaphoric language that sounded pretty but didn't.. mean anything? Or wasn't visualizable and was therefore indigestible. I think this is a collection that will certainly work well for some folks but wasn't quite to my taste.
I really wanted to like this collection more than I did. Some poems landed for me but most didn't. A little too much body horror metaphor and other assorted metaphoric language that sounded pretty but didn't.. mean anything? Or wasn't visualizable and was therefore indigestible. I think this is a collection that will certainly work well for some folks but wasn't quite to my taste.
bridgerstay's review against another edition
4.0
It is actually 4.5 ⭐
Wow, I completely love this, it was really personal, and I was surprised about how the writer can make you feel his words. He reflected so many topics like regret, racial problems being in another country, sexuality, family experiences and more. This might be different in comparison with others poetry books I have read, but I enjoyed the journey. I wanted to read it slow, but it just kept getting better that I read it like in two hours. I loved how honest and open he was in this.
I gave it 4. 5⭐ because maybe in some parts I wasn't that much comfortable with the writing in some topics, but besides that it was a good job.
Wow, I completely love this, it was really personal, and I was surprised about how the writer can make you feel his words. He reflected so many topics like regret, racial problems being in another country, sexuality, family experiences and more. This might be different in comparison with others poetry books I have read, but I enjoyed the journey. I wanted to read it slow, but it just kept getting better that I read it like in two hours. I loved how honest and open he was in this.
I gave it 4. 5⭐ because maybe in some parts I wasn't that much comfortable with the writing in some topics, but besides that it was a good job.
bleales's review against another edition
5.0
there’s no need to eradicate this vessel of shadows. lightning won’t strike twice on a vandalized house.