Reviews

The Gravity of Existence by Christina Sng

okjaaaaa's review

3.0

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me an eARC of this poetry collection.

The repeated separated pacing of the poems and the fairy tale references turned a little stale and gimmicky after a while. Both the formats and the fairy tale references worked well as literary devices in the beginning, but the repetition of them to this extent made them lose punch and meaning slightly.

Although some of the poems struggled to stick the landing for me, they make up a really interesting collection of poems that tell the stories of humanity's grief and hubris, from the beginning of life to the end of humanity somewhere out in the universe.

mollye123's review

1.0

This was quite a quick read and I did like 2 or 3 poems however, I think I may be missing something. A lot of these poems didn’t make sense to me and although I appreciate what a lot of poetry collections do, this didn’t do it for me. If this book was any longer I would have definitely DNF’d it altogether. I didn’t like the format the poems were in and I think this didn’t help for my brain to comprehend what was being written and the message it was supposed to be sending

hanxue's review

2.0

It was a very quick read. For the first half of the book the writing was flat and unimpressive, some of the poems were quite literally copy and pastes of hit tweets or tumblr posts but with the phrase changed a bit to look 'aesthetic' which I found super annoying but apart from those, the poems by the end were more meaningful and well written.

As someone who reads poetry a lot I can't say I really found anything special with this collection but it was alright. I don't hate it and I don't love it. (I did hate the first half though, ngl, the last part redeemed it somewhat).

Thanks Netgalley.

es_the_book_hoarder's review

4.0

This really is a stunning collection of poetry. I've read it a few times now, and each time I fall deeper into exactly what it is that Christina Sng created. The unknown. The gravity of loss. The gravity of existence. The brevity that we all face in the lives we lead.

I haven't written for years, and yet last night I was scribbling my imaginings on a page like I'd never stopped. For me, that says more than anything else could.

It's far from perfect, and not every message will effect every reader, but if at least one resonates, it's worth it.

This one is being added to my shelf.

Among my favourites of the near 60 in this sublime collection: Escape, Cinderella, The Snow Queen, Marriage, Electroconvulsive Therapy Session One, The Gift and Requiem.

Star Rating: 4/5

Many thanks to the author, Interstellar Flight Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

shereadstales's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

Thanks to NetGalley and Interstellar Flight Press for the digital galley of this poetry collection.

This poetry collection gives new voices to traditionally horror creatures, which is my whole jam. From werewolves, basilisks, sirens, ghosts, aliens, pandemics, fairy tales and myths, Sng provides alternate perspectives and a deeper understanding of creatures that are historically, sometimes tropey and one-dimensional. I love horror, and I loved this collection. Am definitely keeping it for a re-read down the road. 

silentrequiem's review

dark emotional funny reflective fast-paced

5.0

Christina Sng is a master of packing in a lot of story and emotion into just a few words. I was very impressed with this poetry collection, and will definitely be looking up her other books.

georgilvsbooks's review against another edition

2.0

SPARROW

I turn into a sparrow
When the sky turns gray.

I cover the ground
With a blanket of read.

Vengeance is sweet
When slowly pecked.

I saver the taste.
It’s been a long wait.

weirdenergies's review against another edition

3.0

This collection was a mix of mystery, mythology and quantum mechanics. Sng’s modern voice collided with these old tales and retellings in a way where some worked extremely well, with a few falling slightly short. The experimentation with form and linguist style was similar to this in the way that sometimes I was enveloped in the story, other times I wished for a little more. Definitely a quick read, and a collection I’ll to coming back to in October when the world is encompassed by spooky vibes! Also, I’d buy this simply because the cover art is absolutely stunning. Gorgeous vibes, fitting for a gruelling read! Looking forward to reading some more of Sng’s work.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

undermeyou's review against another edition

3.0

This was disappointing, but I am trying to rate it based on the writing itself and not on my expectations. There were really well written lines, but overall, I don’t think a single poem stuck with me. I thought that this would either be drenched in metaphor or have some sort of narrative running throughout, but I didn’t end up getting that. It was more like reading many micro takes on Horror/scifi/fantasy ideas, which might be fine, if anything felt new or relevant. The Childhood section was my least favorite and particularly difficult for me to focus on. I love haikus, but nothing about these felt fresh or clever. Certain sections worked better than others. Ghost and The End were more of what I was expecting with this collection as they had a bit more of a thread running through them, and I may have given this 4 stars if the entire collection was written this way. Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC

jugglingpup's review against another edition

1.0

I got an ARC of this book.

I don't get it. At all. It took all of 10-15 minutes to read, but I have no idea what I just read. Sometimes that is exciting, but this time, I just won't remember this book. The cover is amazingly cool, but inside is a mystery to me.