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A review by corvidquest
Factory Girls by Rina Kikuchi, Jeffrey Angles, Carol Hayes, You Nakai, Sawako Nakayaso, Jen Crawford, Takako Arai
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Wow! I almost never read poetry, but this! Mesmerizing, incantatory, evocative - this is poetry-as-page-turner.
The poems are divided into three sections.
“In the Factory” relates stories of the women who worked in the author’s family’s small textile factory, and her childhood growing up around them. The whole milieu is arrestingly brought to life. I loved it so much I immediately re-read it after finishing.
“Into the World” contends with various disasters and pathologies of the modern world with anger, despair, and unexpected humor, and the weight of the subject matter is belied by the propulsive rhythm of its language.
“Of Gods and Small Animals” is more specifically…folkloric? surreal? –than the other sections, though animals and spirits inhabit much of her verse.
The afterward provides a brief biography and notes for the various poems, clarifying the cultural and linguistic context when necessary.
I’m happy I went out of my comfort zone with this collection. I’d give it six stars if I could.
The poems are divided into three sections.
“In the Factory” relates stories of the women who worked in the author’s family’s small textile factory, and her childhood growing up around them. The whole milieu is arrestingly brought to life. I loved it so much I immediately re-read it after finishing.
“Into the World” contends with various disasters and pathologies of the modern world with anger, despair, and unexpected humor, and the weight of the subject matter is belied by the propulsive rhythm of its language.
“Of Gods and Small Animals” is more specifically…folkloric? surreal? –than the other sections, though animals and spirits inhabit much of her verse.
The afterward provides a brief biography and notes for the various poems, clarifying the cultural and linguistic context when necessary.
I’m happy I went out of my comfort zone with this collection. I’d give it six stars if I could.