Time Is a Mother

Always a lover of poetry and there's nothing I love more than listening to authors who have recorded their own work on audiobook, but this one was a bit painful to listen to. I almost DNF'd it but decided to finish it to see if any one poem stood out. I have enjoyed other works from Ocean so I am feeling a bit sad this is not one of them.

This book broke me open! Such beautiful writing. Vuong draws the readers into the stories with such tender care and with no emotional holds barred. The stories are tender, vulnerable, and raw. It was emotionally draining to read but I wouldn’t hesitate to pick it up again and again like you might do with a book of poetry.

⭐⭐⭐ / 3 stars

Time Is A Mother is the second poetry collection by Ocean Vuong and follows the theme of his debut novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous.

I had intended to read OEWBG first and in hindsight I wish I would have as it may have offered more clarity concerning this collection of poems.

There were a couple that I quite enjoyed with a more flowy structure but for the most part I had a hard time connecting with the author's words in part due to the choppy, staccato-like cadence of the narration.

I thought with author narration I would be able to connect with the words and better glean their true meaning but much of the time it felt like it was all going over my head.

Special thanks to the Libro.fm Librarian ALC program, Penguin Random House Audio, and the author for this complimentary Audiobook Listening Copy.

If Vuong has no fans, I am dead. This just wasn’t as good as the other prose/poetry but I’m still excited for what’s next

I always like what Vuong writes, but I think the timing wasn't right for me and it just didn't click with me this time like On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous did.