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A review by clemrain
Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.75
Vuong is a complex writer. This collection has some strong poems. Many of them require revisits from the reader.
I really enjoyed ‘the bull’ and ‘now theory’. Simple, punching lines that were accessible reads.
It’s funny, his novel read like poetry and I though reading his poems would be such a treat. So I was quick to pick up his poetry collection. But, the strongest pieces in his poetry collection were the paragraphs of poetry that read like flash fiction. I think he’s a great writer, and that he needs to find the balance between his story telling and purple prose.
His poems aren’t completely relatable to me, and his themes can be a bit repetitive. I think you can only talk about the same idea so many times. Vuong does a good job at bringing a new structure to his ideas, but the story is just the same. This isn’t bad, but it did take me out of his work. It’s already a taxing read because of its theme and complexities, so I wish the collection removed some redundancy.
Overall, a good read. I will be looking back at it. I’m also looking forward to reading his other poetry collection.
I really enjoyed ‘the bull’ and ‘now theory’. Simple, punching lines that were accessible reads.
It’s funny, his novel read like poetry and I though reading his poems would be such a treat. So I was quick to pick up his poetry collection. But, the strongest pieces in his poetry collection were the paragraphs of poetry that read like flash fiction. I think he’s a great writer, and that he needs to find the balance between his story telling and purple prose.
His poems aren’t completely relatable to me, and his themes can be a bit repetitive. I think you can only talk about the same idea so many times. Vuong does a good job at bringing a new structure to his ideas, but the story is just the same. This isn’t bad, but it did take me out of his work. It’s already a taxing read because of its theme and complexities, so I wish the collection removed some redundancy.
Overall, a good read. I will be looking back at it. I’m also looking forward to reading his other poetry collection.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Grief