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ifpoetshadmerch's review against another edition
3.0
"But never forget the road you have chose
for there is no way back to the womb."
Chin's poetry is unapologetic. The majority of this collection is threaded with anger, bitterness, and sarcasm where she critiques Chinese culture and treatment as an "other" in the United States. Oscillating between un-Zenlike koans and more elevated language, transitions between and within poems and sections is dramatic and easily noticed. Her poems are rather narrative and typically fast-moving and jumpy, and it's interesting to see how various poetic techniques enhance the narrative qualities of her poems. Personally, I was a little turned off by the almost erratic anger/ pessimism within the poems, and I would have liked to see a little more celebration and lighter poems.
for there is no way back to the womb."
Chin's poetry is unapologetic. The majority of this collection is threaded with anger, bitterness, and sarcasm where she critiques Chinese culture and treatment as an "other" in the United States. Oscillating between un-Zenlike koans and more elevated language, transitions between and within poems and sections is dramatic and easily noticed. Her poems are rather narrative and typically fast-moving and jumpy, and it's interesting to see how various poetic techniques enhance the narrative qualities of her poems. Personally, I was a little turned off by the almost erratic anger/ pessimism within the poems, and I would have liked to see a little more celebration and lighter poems.
billyjepma's review against another edition
4.0
If I was giving this an honest “rating”—which is difficult to do with poetry—I think I’d settle somewhere around 3.5 stars, but I’ll round up to 4 here. Chin’s poetry is difficult, often obtuse, and sometimes frustrating in the walls it seems to erect. Her writing is superb, and she is at once evocative and affecting in her style. But she frames her work in such a way that it can feel like it’s trying to keep me out, and even as I want to dig into the undeniable depth of her poetry, the content and thematics sometimes seems to erect walls around itself that make it hard to get truly invested.
Nevertheless, even the poems I failed to interpret were still compelling, and the pieces that hit me hit very, very hard. The emotional, political, and personal nuances are stunning when they’re able to fully connect with the reader, and for those moments of sudden, brilliant comprehension, this collection is worth investing in.
Nevertheless, even the poems I failed to interpret were still compelling, and the pieces that hit me hit very, very hard. The emotional, political, and personal nuances are stunning when they’re able to fully connect with the reader, and for those moments of sudden, brilliant comprehension, this collection is worth investing in.
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