A review by victoriathuyvi
The Kingdom of Surfaces: Poems by Sally Wen Mao

4.0

I wanted to love this so much, but the poems didn't resonate with me as much as it should have (as I found all the content highly relatable yet too guided - rather than letting me form my own connections and opinions or conjectures about the writer's thoughts, it was laid out too easily and a bit monotonously). I did love the ideas and the imagery, but the writing style felt too on-the-nose for my taste in poetry. I would have loved it in a creative essay/non-fiction format. Still, bumped up to 4 stars because this is a treasure trove of artistic and intellectual inspiration.