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A review by melonfizz
Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
2.0
"The ice retreats, the ground beneath him red and ochre as if an enormous mammal had been opened at his feet."
There were a few quotes that resonated, but in comparison to Night Sky with Exit Wounds, this book ultimately fell a little flatter for me than expected. I understand that the highly stylized formatting of Vuong's poetry adds meaning to his work, but in this case, it almost felt like a roadblock to accessing the pure, palpable feelings that normally underly his prose. Some of the lines also felt too on-the-nose and almost contrived, but at the same time I can respect Vuong's honesty to his experience and his artistic instinct in this sense.
There were a few quotes that resonated, but in comparison to Night Sky with Exit Wounds, this book ultimately fell a little flatter for me than expected. I understand that the highly stylized formatting of Vuong's poetry adds meaning to his work, but in this case, it almost felt like a roadblock to accessing the pure, palpable feelings that normally underly his prose. Some of the lines also felt too on-the-nose and almost contrived, but at the same time I can respect Vuong's honesty to his experience and his artistic instinct in this sense.