Cover Image: Some Are Always Hungry

Some Are Always Hungry

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Love the concept of this collection of poems. Showing the immigrant experience via food. These poems are raw and emotionally honest. I'm grateful I got to read this fascinating book.

Was this review helpful?

I feel slightly raw after finishing this poetry collection, and I mean that in the best way. It's so graphic, honest, and vulnerable. Each poem packs a real punch, and it was it was discomfiting in a way that I think was very intentional and well executed. This collection thematically deals with hunger (clearly), poverty, survival, sex; this is to name only a few. Leaving off one star because I did feel that some of the poems seemed almost disjointed and slightly impacted the reading experience for me.

Was this review helpful?

I felt like each piece I read herein linked to the next and so forth until I came to the end of the book.
The author explores survival, war and in a most refreshing way links it to the sea and to food, and that in itself got me because food carries memories and it seemed as though every word written here brought me back to those places, those feelings at that time.
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

Was this review helpful?

It is all very glamorous the way only memorials / for tragedy can be

Here the tragedy is raw and harrowing. Hunger haunts Jihyun Yun's poems, where recipes and stories intermix. She blurs the boundaries between food and female bodies, presenting both as frequently dismembered and displaced. It's a very visceral collection of poems, unabashedly tethered to the body. Particular favourites included "Menstruation Triptych," "Benediction as Disdained Cuisine," and "The Leaving Scene."

Readers who enjoyed this book may be interested in Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Kim Thúy's Ru, and Aracelis Girmay's The Black Maria.

Was this review helpful?

I have mixed feeling about this collection of poetry. To begin I was pulled in by the lyrical style and connecting themes and I enjoyed the viewpoint.
Yet, the second half of this collection, or perhaps closer to the final third, didn't hold my attention as much.
Overall it was a good read, and I would probably pick up more work by this author in future.

Was this review helpful?

A unique collection of poetry that bring together the experience of immigrants through food or lack there of. This is an emotional collection about survival, love and what it means to truly belong.

Was this review helpful?

"Commit yourself to this un-harvest. To the joy of unmaking."

I am completely blown away by this poetry collection, to be honest. I really did not expect to be so impressed because usually I am quite critical when it comes to poetry, but this one... The way immigration, diaspora, womanhood , family bonds and survival are presented is just so... heartwrenching, but at the same time inspiring. The food metaphors are incredible and the way the traditional recipes are woven into the narrative is just so original and well done.

"Now, men with bayonets. Tomorrow, dogs. In no version are they not hunting us."

I don't even know what to say, I loved it and I highly recommend it.

Was this review helpful?

An exceptional collection of poetry, meditating on themes of family, diaspora, and culture. This collection synthesizes Korean history, gender identity, and food through its poems, which find new forms in recipes, lists, and family stories. I would highly recommend this book to everyone.

Was this review helpful?

A beautiful, haunting collection by Jihyun Yun. The use of food and recipes to discuss colonization, trauma, and war made me sit back and ruminate over many of these poems.

Was this review helpful?

I hadn’t read any of Jihyun Yun’s work before this collection and I can’t believe I’ve been missing out on this brilliance. “Some Are Always Hungry” is a visceral, empowered, genius examination of womanhood, the body, and how bodies + lives are viewed and valued by society. I don’t think I can pick a favorite, but I will say that the first poem, “All Female,” was astounding as an introduction to Yun’s work. There, Yun examines the reality that we always destroy the female body, whether it’s a chicken or a crab or the way female humans are oppressed and fetishized. I had never thought of our traditions that way, but it’s true. And this poem and its insights and profundity are the tip of the iceberg in this collection.

I will loudly proclaim my admiration and awe of “Some Are Always Hungry” and the remarkable, revolutionary work of Jihyun Yun. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance copy. This review is entirely unbiased and effusively positive.

Was this review helpful?

I don’t read a huge amount of poetry but this was really stunning. The writing style really blew me away, a lyrical feel that wove its way throughout every poem, linking them together. I enjoyed the themes of identity, womanhood, and of course food.
It was a quick read, but it held great depth and a rawness that makes me want to reread them again. I know that with each reading I will find new meaning and understanding of these poems and I look forward to revisiting them again in the future.

Was this review helpful?

Wow! That was actually really haunting and yet so beautiful.

I don't usually read poetry but this one had a nice cover and an interesting premise I really liked how raw it was actually.

Was this review helpful?

This poetry collection was absolutely stunning. Every poem was brutal and painful and gorgeous. I love anything that considers the layers of mother-daughter relationships and this one dug so deep, especially when considering race and history in relation to Korean identity. It’s a quick read but it packs a firm punch.

Was this review helpful?

[ thanks to NetGalley for providing me this ARC ]
I'm in love with this story of immigration told through family memories and traditional recipes that scream at the clear lack of it. Short but raw and ruthless.

Was this review helpful?

Some Are Always Hungry by Jihyun Yun is a lovely work that weaves together from a single thread a whole that is both relevant and timeless. The immigrant experience is detailed through the story of food, or lack thereof, as a means to bond and unite and, ultimately, to sustain. These are powerful words of survival, sharply observed, and strung together in a beautiful and deeply affecting way.

Many thanks to NetGalley and University of Nebraska Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Was this review helpful?

Stunning work by Jihyun Yun, this collection of poetry is stunning. The writing style is beautiful and I really loved how all the poems form a single thread.

A definite goodread, everyone needs to have this book. It's a perfect fit for readers of contemporary as well as insta poets

Was this review helpful?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Wonderful breathtaking words filled with emotion and truly inspiring . The book is based on family wartime survival & femine . Worth reading..!

Was this review helpful?