These oft-clipped poems possess a bewitching quality, as if they were whittled from a scarred memory. One poem contained a curious reference to a Vietnamese writer named Nam Cao whose work, it seems, has not yet been translated for English readers. I did stumble upon one translated short story by him; it made sense why his themes of alienation and dissociation and his direct yet indirect style might be so admired by Dinh that one poem is named after him (“Reading Nam Cao in the Dark” I think it is called). These are dark poems containing multiple references to Sisyphus, Hamlet, Bukowski, Joan of Arc, and Hemingway but they are also quite personal, providing snapshots of the eternal but often frayed familial bonds, and strangely life-affirming, holding up a broken mirror and seeing a way through it while acknowledging the debris, emotional baggage, and ghosts refusing to be left behind.

This collection covers a wide range, relationships, war, politics, faith, survival, and everything in between. Some poems are direct. Others are layered in references, Babel, Ophelia, Sisyphus, Modiano, and I had to slow down and sit with them, or look something up. That didn’t take away from the impact. If anything, it added to it.
There’s a lot of anger in these pages. Not just loud anger, though that’s here too, but quiet bitterness, exhaustion, even sarcasm. There are poems about a mother’s love, but also what it costs. Poems that ask if survival is worth it, or if it just is.
One line stayed with me:
“I didn’t choose to be this way.
After all, I only have one option: to live.”
That’s the heart of the book for me. Not healing, not redemption, just the fact that some people keep going because there’s no other choice.
This isn’t a soft collection. It’s not trying to be inspirational. It names things most people don’t say out loud. And that made it powerful.

Thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC and giving me the opportunity to give my honest review.

This collection of poems shows a strong Ltgbq+ voice. The book shows the need for love is universal and understanding is always a struggle. The short brief look into life and love in the authors life and how it affects her view of life, and the world.

I liked the first collection of poetry a little bit more. However if I had read this one first, I would certainly give it 5 stars. In these poems, people struggling with their relationships to identity, heritage, mental health, alienation, and heartbreak could find a simple joy in being understood by someone who shares similar experiences and emotions, who felt a bunch of heart-wrenching emotions and still stood, offering comfort to others through their poetry. These powerful and emotional lines convey a sense of desperation, yet remain filled with hope.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

The writing is stunning, sparse and haunting. A collection of short chapters, poetry, verse, thoughts woven around an idea, a thought, a memory. And through each of these, it feels exceptionally personal, like you are reading a person's most intimate journal.

While it is only short, I took time to read it. Some of the concepts demand the reader to pay attention, and I liked to consume each chapter and then let it sit with me. The end of Keigo, had such an effect..

'...but your name is forever here, carved deep in the tissues of my flesh, and on a silent night, you can hear my bones creak; in their breath, I can hear them say "That's it, just let yourself go." and perhaps it would make you happy to know that like Ophelia. I long to jump into the frozen ocean, only to taste the bitterness of your cigarette smoke vanishing into the Tokyo night sky like a broken dream'. p.23

The other overwhelming sensation when I read this though is sadness. It echoes of deep depression, suicide, and loss of love and hope and while the stories are all different, there is this loose thread, and a question that hangs evocatively in each chapter... why do we hold on to life, and to let go, is that a release and a freedom?

I found it emotional and unsettling, but in a beautiful way.

I am very glad I read it. Even though at times I felt maybe not smart enough to fully comprehend all of it.

If you are experiencing anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts, remember there are people you can talk to - Beyond Blue

Thanks so much #NetGalley and #VictoryEditingNetGalleyCo-Op for the ARC.

These poems explore the complexities of identity, heritage, mental health, alienation, and heartbreak. There’s a quiet comfort in being seen by someone who’s lived through similar emotions—someone who’s felt deeply and still found a way to stand, offering their strength through words. The lines are powerful and raw, capturing desperation without losing sight of hope.
“Holding onto hope is a human condition because what else do we have besides hoping when everything else is falling apart.”
It’s a beautifully structured, beautifully written collection.

Salt & Ashes by Thanh is an emotional and compelling poetry collection. They explore really complex themes of femininity, sexism, LGBTQ+, loss and rage. The authors raw emotions are felt keenly through the poems.

"Of course I know lies when I hear them, she said but how can one give up hope?"

I love how feminine rage and pain is portrayed. It's relatable and feral. It's loose and wild. And it makes you stop and think at the end of each poem.

I'd definitely recommend this poetry collection to anyone who relates to any of these themes. The poems leave you stunned, emotional and contemplative with quite easy to understand motifs. Some poems need context which I didn't have but still enjoyed those poems.

Overall I really enjoyed it and it will be going in my personal collection

I always struggle with poetry, because I tend to find most of it either too lyrical and metaphorical or too direct and nor enough lyrical. So, Thanh Dinh left me speechless with the perfect balance of her writing.

Navigating through the spectrum of human experience with a wonderful mastery of vocabulary, sentence structure, rhythm and layout, Dinh's poetry is utterly human and hauntingly moving. Throughout the entire book pain and hope lingered in me, constantly put there by what I was reading. I find it difficult to describe how "Salt & Ashes" moved me, but the permeant idea was that it wasn't making me crying, but weeping: everything about this book is poetic, even how it makes you feel. So, do yourself a favor and read this book, even if you're not really a poetry person, because everyone needs to read something so delicately painful at least once in their life.

I'm grateful to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for giving me the possibility to read this condensed expression of emotions from pain to hope.