"An exploration of loss, but as one reviewer noted, this exploration 'doesn’t result in nihilism or apathy for life; in fact, Vuong approaches death like an entrance rather than an ending.' An interesting idea to explore within the paradoxical cycle we oftentimes find ourselves in where we fear both the banality of life and the finality of death." --H&H Books

_________________________________________

Ocean Vuong's second collection of poetry looks inward, on the aftershocks of his mother's death, and the struggle--and rewards--of staying present in the world. [The volume] moves outward and onward, in concert with the themes of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, as Vuong continues, through his work, his ... exploration of personal trauma, of what it means to be the product of an American war in America, and how to circle these fragmented tragedies to find not a restoration, but the epicenter of the break