Community Reviews
⭐⭐⭐ / 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.
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.
'how else do we return to ourselves but to fold the page so it points to the good part'
'how come the past tense is always longer? is the memory of a song the shadow of a sound or is that too much?'
'i'm on the cliff of myself & these aren't wings, they're futures'
'it doesn't have to make sense to be real'
'the air holds your voice as it holds its own'
'o human, i'm not mad at you for winning but that you never wished for more.'
'my favorite kind of darkness is the one inside us, i want to tell him'
'maybe, like you, i was one of those people who loves the world most when i'm rock-bottom in my fast car going nowhere'
'you're smiling because the stars are just stars & you know we'll only live once this time'
'the way death enters anything fully without a trace'
'unlike feelings, blood gets realer when you feel it'
'what if it wasn't the crash that made us, but the debris?'
because the fairy tales were right. you'll need sorcery to make it out of here'
'how you say what you mean changes what you say'
'but to live like a bullet, to touch people with such intention'
'how come the past tense is always longer? is the memory of a song the shadow of a sound or is that too much?'
'i'm on the cliff of myself & these aren't wings, they're futures'
'it doesn't have to make sense to be real'
'the air holds your voice as it holds its own'
'o human, i'm not mad at you for winning but that you never wished for more.'
'my favorite kind of darkness is the one inside us, i want to tell him'
'maybe, like you, i was one of those people who loves the world most when i'm rock-bottom in my fast car going nowhere'
'you're smiling because the stars are just stars & you know we'll only live once this time'
'the way death enters anything fully without a trace'
'unlike feelings, blood gets realer when you feel it'
'what if it wasn't the crash that made us, but the debris?'
because the fairy tales were right. you'll need sorcery to make it out of here'
'how you say what you mean changes what you say'
'but to live like a bullet, to touch people with such intention'
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