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minhjngo's review
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher of Graywolf Press and the author Sally Wen Mao for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I highly anticipated this collection of poetry and if you're a fan of Oculus, you're bound to like it. This collection is an improvement in Mao's poetry with her focus on Chinese history, Chinese American diaspora, and social injustice. I always love her fixation on Anna May Wong. No one is devoted to Anna May Wong like Mao is. I'm excited to see Mao's writing in the form of prose.
2000s's review
I wasn't moved by the writing, it was a little too on-the-nose for me.
soupdumpling's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
So glad I was able to get a copy of this book from my local library. Sally Wen Mao's previous work really stuck to me to the point that I bought a copy so I had to read her newest work. It took me longer to work through this given my mental health (and the entire state of the world falling apart as we watch the U.S. empire go into flames) but it was still a very solid collection of poetry.
My favorite poems in no particular order:
"Humpty Dumpty"
"On Porcelain"
"On Garbage"
"Romance of the Castle-Topper"
My favorite poems in no particular order:
"Humpty Dumpty"
"On Porcelain"
"On Garbage"
"Romance of the Castle-Topper"
brice_mo's review
4.0
This is a really wonderful collection in general, but it shines in “The Kingdom of Surfaces.” I feel this poem is where Sally Wen Mao most successfully weaves history and personal experience together, and the result is gutting in the best way.
There are a few poems that don’t “work” quite as well, but I don’t know that there would have been a way to make them work. For example, “American Loneliness” falters a bit by losing (some of) the specificity of the poet’s experience in favor of trying to think more universally about Asian-American identity. This poem, like a few others, is characterized by righteous anger and urgency in responding to the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, but I think it highlights how there can’t really be a coherent response to the irrational problem of violence.
The poem seems to search for a “why” when there isn’t one to be found, but maybe that is the point.
It’s a testament to the Sally Wen Mao’s ability, though, that even a weaker poem in the collection still has moments that are stunning, and in most other collections, it would be the pinnacle of the book.
There are a few poems that don’t “work” quite as well, but I don’t know that there would have been a way to make them work. For example, “American Loneliness” falters a bit by losing (some of) the specificity of the poet’s experience in favor of trying to think more universally about Asian-American identity. This poem, like a few others, is characterized by righteous anger and urgency in responding to the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, but I think it highlights how there can’t really be a coherent response to the irrational problem of violence.
The poem seems to search for a “why” when there isn’t one to be found, but maybe that is the point.
It’s a testament to the Sally Wen Mao’s ability, though, that even a weaker poem in the collection still has moments that are stunning, and in most other collections, it would be the pinnacle of the book.
victoriathuyvi's review
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.
cstefko's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
The middle section based around Alice In Wonderland and the Met did not really work for me, but the rest of the poems more than made up for it. I think I had read a few of these poems before, specifically some of the pandemic-related ones, but they still felt fresh. I also appreciated the continuation of her focus on Anna May Wong from her previous collection.
madamewritelyso's review against another edition
4.0
This was my first book by Mao that I've read. (I have her other two poetry books bookmarked for later!) This poetry collection was marvelous in its language, juxtaposing past and present in poems about the Chinese-American diaspora and social injustices. Reading this collection once through, I now want to read it again. There's so much layered in each poem that deserves many more reads.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
anneliehyatt's review
4.0
read my review here :D : https://c-j-l-c.org/portfolio/the-shell-of-another-empire-a-review-of-sally-wen-maos-the-kingdom-of-surfaces/