This, like On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, was just okay. I didn’t connect with most of the poetry and I just kept reading because of the shortness of the book. Some poems however I really liked. Some others,,, not. I felt like it was so much nonsense, just words lined up next to eachother, which yes, is the concept of every book but in this case it was not making any sense. I might have to read it again to grasp the meaning tho!
All in all I found it okay, not world changing for me but quite enjoyable at times.
I also like the cover and the title.

I'm sorry to say that this was not for me. I've seen people post ocean vuong's poems on social media in the past and liked what i saw but this is the first collection i've seen and this one unfortunately i did not like. It didn't feel like poetry to me, more like mini stories for most of it, there was poetic feel to it for me.

What a stunning book! I loved the writing and there were so many moments where it broke my heart. I can't wait to read more by this author.

I read this over the course of a day, immediately after receiving it from Netgalley (who provided me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review).

I could not put this collection down. Vuong continues to produce some of the most gorgeous writing I've ever experienced tackling broad and intense topics with such aplomb and nuance... it's mesmerising! Just like 'On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous', Vuong explores his relationship with his mother, sexuality, violence, war, time, ageing using repeated incidents or concepts that build and layer upon one another reaching it's crescendo in the penultimate poem. It is a richly crafted piece that moves, ebbing and flowing through peaks and troughs until I couldn't read it fast enough!

Another personal highlight that I LOVED for its honest depiction of forms of masculinity that I hope we're finally coming to the end of, was 'Old Glory'. May none of those sentences ever be uttered again!

nearly a 5 star for me, probably a 4.5 -- if only because no matter how much this made me cry, nothing will ever come close to “night sky with exit wounds”.

i read this all in one sitting -- by the end i was full of tears. the collection is filled with so much tenderness and grief, but also pours out all the love he has for his mother. i felt his loss as if it was my own.

my favourite poems:
dear t*
amazon history of a former nail salon worker
nothing
the last dinosaur

and this line from woodworking at the end of the world- “Then it came to me, my life. I remembered my life the way an ax handle, mid-swing, remembers the tree. & I was free.”

(*this one calls back to my favourite part of his novel OEWBG)

god bless netgalley for the arc, and thank u ocean vuong for existing.

Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong is a collection of poems that deals with issues such as family and sexuality. I prefer this author's prose work.

‘because everyone knows yellow pain, pressed into american letters, turns to gold. our sorrow midas touched. napalm with a rainbow afterglow. unlike feelings, blood gets realer when you feel it. i’m trying to be real but it costs too much.’ 🥀

poetry, i find, is always a difficult genre to read and review, mostly because as much as we might try to avoid it, our enjoyment of poems is heavily tied to how much we can personally relate to them. i will start with this: ‘time is a mother’ is an undoubtedly intimate and emotionally charged collection of prose-poetry, that once again demonstrates just how skilled of a writer ocean vuong is. in many ways, vuong’s newest collection links strongly with his novel, ‘on earth we’re briefly gorgeous’: exploring and experimenting with themes of language, family relationships, cultural heritage, war and masculinity.

unfortunately, although i am currently very much enjoying reading vuong’s novel (‘on earth we’re briefly gorgeous’), i cannot say that the poems in this collection left much of an impression on me— as much as i would like to say otherwise. at times i felt the string of details in each poem read as too convoluted, and in others i just struggled to maintain interest. vuong, however, is definitely an author of admirable poetic skill, who i will continue to follow and read more of. overall, though this wasn’t the collection for me, i don’t doubt that it will resonate with many other readers.

‘how else do we return to ourselves but to fold the page so it points to the good part’ 🌹

many thanks to random house uk, vintage for my netgalley e-arc :)

Rating: 5/5 stars

Ocean Vuong had absolutely nothing to prove to me, and still managed to exceed every expectation I thought I had. With his first collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds he introduced himself as one of the most talented poets of his time. With On On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, he cemented himself to be an absolute master of language in general, whether it be prose or poetry. His third big release Time is a Mother however, might be his best work so far.

In this collection of poetry Vuong returns to his exploration of the aftermath of his mother’s passing and the duality of the “ghost” that her memory leaves behind. The duality of agonizing grief against continuous love. The wish to conserve a memory, against the necessity to move forward. The way time is healing like a mother, but also a motherf*cker, for marching forward for you, but not someone you loved.
In addition, there’s the exploration prejudices based off race, sexual orientation, and the intersection of both, that was present in his previous work as well. All of which is done in an intimate, readable and yet poignant way.
For me personally, as much as I appreciate the craft that goes into poetry, I rarely come away absolutely loving a collection as a whole. With Time is a Mother, Ocean Vuong proved himself the exception: not only did his command of language strike an emotional note with me, this collection as a whole was very near flawless. Consistent, cohesive and connected internally (and to his other work), without becoming repetitive. What an absolute feat!

As a final note, I’d like to refer to Vuongs own words in a recent pre-release interview, on his feelings towards this collection, as I feel the do a perfect job of describing the kind of collection this is:

"Every time I finish a book, I am filled with regrets. (...) It doesn't mean that I'm not proud of what I've written — however fleeting pride might be — but only that I wish it could be more, that it could enact the mind's myriad changes in real-time. But a book is, in a way, the photograph of a spirit animated by the imagination and rendered in language. This means that by the time a manuscript is handed in, I would barely know who I am or what I have become since I first wrote it. "But this time, I feel absurdly happy, content, utterly empty and full all at once. For whatever strange and ungodly reason, I don't doubt this book's place in the world the same way I have doubted my own selfhood in it.”


Many thanks to Jonathan Cape and Random House UK for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I adore Vuong’s writing so was excited to read this poetry collection and it did not disappoint. Poignant, raw and provoking, I found myself devouring it whilst at the same time wanting to savour and enjoy. The poetry is fractured and formless in areas, with a sense of the words just flowing, even leaking, out onto the page.

Focusing on relationships, violence and sexuality, the content feels personal and difficult to read in some places. You can feel pain jumping off the page, understanding that Vuong is untangling a sense of a complicated relationship with his late mother sets an interesting context.

I am by no means a poetry expert and did find myself getting a little lost and confused by what I was reading in places but I like to think poetry should be judged largely on how it makes you feel and react. This was undoubtedly different to any other collection I have read and the language and passion of the writing really hooked me. This is definitely a collection I will return to and would recommend.

Thank you to the publisher at NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this authors work, there’s no doubt they are a talented writer. I have mixed feelings about the collection. On one hand, I enjoyed around half of the poems, but some of them, for me, were too long and seemed to go on forever. However, poetry is subjective so it’s hard to review, but this was not all to my taste but it doesn’t mean other people won’t find a new favourite in this. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for a chance to read and review this book.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, thanks so much to Netgalley for sending this to me!

After reading Ocean Vuong’s debut poetry collection, Night Sky With Exit Wounds, Ocean Vuong cemented himself as my favourite poet. His work in that book was exactly what I was looking for with poetry, and I set it as the standard for what kind of work I like. I’ve been desperately seeking another collection like it ever since, so I highly anticipated this second collection. That being said, having read it twice (I really wanted to get the full impact of it), I’m left with mixed feelings.

In the wake of so many disappointing collections in 2021 (I think I read two and hated them both), this book was definitely a step up. Ocean Vuong can definitely be relied upon to stand out stylistically, with a voice that’s a little reminiscent of Richard Siken but also distinctly his own. His command over language remains incredible, and there were a number of lines in this that leapt out to me. My favourite thing about reading poetry is when you read a line and just get that feeling, like the poet has described how something looks so well that there’s no other possible way to describe it. That is THE metaphor for the thing. It’s so perfect you just have to sit with it for a moment and be amazed. Ocean Vuong is a master of delivering those moments, and I definitely experienced that feeling a number of times while reading this, which was particularly impressive given the mundane normalcy of so many of these poems. They really managed to find the wonder and the beauty in these tiny moments.

One thing I really loved about Ocean’s first collection was the form. That book had a really tight command, structurally, over the poems. In comparison, a lot of the poems in this book felt a little formless, more stream of consciousness, racing thoughts, without as much form or punctuation to break things up. At times it felt like reading a panic attack. It was an uncomfortable reading experience, but I think that was perhaps the intention. That being said, it also had this kind of vague, unfinished feeling. A lot of poems start this way in the initial draft, as an outpouring of thoughts and images that later get tightened and pared down and rearranged. It was that paring down and polishing that felt missing here, to me. The poems kind of held onto that initial energy of letting everything out and to me, felt as though they lacked the clarity that comes with the refinement stage. You’re kind of unleashed into the mess of the poet’s brain, all these disconnected fragments jumping from one image to another seemingly at random. It was disorienting, and at times uncomfortable. It definitely made me feel something, but a lot of the time it was like grasping at sand and feeling everything slip through your fingers. I definitely felt that there was more looseness here; the construction felt less deliberate. There were also a lot of longer poems, lots of prose poetry (which isn’t really my thing). I usually find that any poem longer than a page tends to lose its way, and that aligned with my experience here. Really good poetry can convey what it’s saying in barely any words, and the more it runs away with itself the more the meaning gets blurred and loses its impact, in my opinion. This book felt, at times, a bit lost. Like it was wandering around in the fog. Then again, this is a book about grief, confusion, and war, so perhaps that was fitting. It’s very personal, and alternates between keeping the reader at a distance only to pull you in uncomfortably close to show some microscopic detail. It’s definitely an experience to read this book, even if that experience isn’t always enjoyable. I could appreciate that I was being shown something even if I didn’t always understand what it was.

Once again, Ocean Vuong’s poetry is definitely a standout. He’s a fantastic writer. I didn’t feel as passionately about this collection as I did about his first, but it’s definitely the best poetry collection I’ve read in a while and I will continue to pick up any more poetry he writes.

A stunning series of poems that question love, faith, existence, fear, humanity, identity, and more. I haven't read Ocean Vuong's other works, but was drawn to this as a meditation on time and its varied meanings given our current circumstance. I was left reeling at the poet's ability to capture moments, reflections, interactions, and to the ponder the most enormous questions of our lifetimes in short lines and stanzas: "I'm not high, officer, I just don't believe in time." UGH, so good. I loved this and look forward to gifting it all over the place.

This book is sublime.

I’ve loved pretty much everything else I’ve read of Vuong’s, so it should probably come as no surprise to myself that I adored this.

However, this collection is extraordinary. It focuses on a large part on Vuong’s relationship to his mother, and the fallout he faces after her death. But in looking at this, he examines relationships, other family members, and the complicated relationship between language, violence, and sexuality.

Without spoiling anything, the second-to-last poem in this collection unspools into a desperate, vital stream of language, where Vuong switches between agony, grief, love and sexualtiy, and it just erupts into a rhythmic panic that was like nothing I’ve ever read, and which brought me close to tears in the middle of a cafe.

All of my favourite elements of Vuong’s writing are on show here, and yet he still manages to push himself to more personal and vulnerable places than before, with the resulting collection feeling incredibly self-assured and yet powerfully introspective.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review.

General Impressions

I requested "Time is a Mother" while in the middle of a poetry kick but mostly because this is an author I've been curious about for a while.

The poetry itself reminded me a lot of reading Richard Siken's work when it came to the language choices and the poet's struggles and mindset.

While I personally struggled a bit with the style and length of the poems, I strongly identified with the themes, particularly the ones about mental health, racism, being an artist and queerness and felt really emotional at the poems relating to the poet's mother.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Vintage for this DRC.

Rating: 3.5/4

I, like many others, loved his Vuong's debut novel 'Night Sky With Exit Wounds'. This collection continues many of the themes from the previous book, covering homosexuality, strained mother-son relationships, grief, and the immigrant struggle. Each poem is structured differently, making it an enigmatic and visceral experience. I would recommend this book to those who are experienced poetry readers, as for those who are new to poetry may find it difficult to engage with. Overall, I really enjoyed this collection, and look forward to Vuong's future works.

I have been waiting impatiently for Ocean Vuong's second poetry collection, and Time is a Mother did not disappoint. A beautifully curated collection, with many of the poems dealing with the poet's grief in the wake of his mother's death, and others exploring sex, love, racism, and homophobia. One of my favourite writers, and for good reason. This collection is another stunner.

Thank you to NetGalley, and to the publisher, who granted me a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Though I am not often drawn to poetry, I loved Vuong’s previous novel (which was poetic in itself), and could not resist the opportunity to experience their poetry.

What an evocative, breathless piece of work. The talent of a writer is when they can make you perceive the world and everyday objects in a completely new way, and Vuong succeeds in this time and time again with each dynamic, confessional poem. The work felt immensely personal and yet relatable all at once. The image of trees as laughing grandfathers and the poignant Amazon History of a Nail Salon Worker will linger with me for a long time. I was also particularly affected by Dear T and Almost Human. To be honest, this work affected me more than I thought it would, and I really thank and appreciate Vuong for that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the absolutely privilege.

This poetry collection reads like the most beautiful confession ever told. It is private yet expository, multilayered with such flawless detail in expression. I am enamoured by how the author has used his words as a reflective lense into the raw, most vulnerable parts of ourselves.

I am in two minds about this book. The emotion and raw energy drew me in but the quality of the prose/poetry did not. Sometimes I struggled to connect and other times I was presented with a broad and cinematic masterpiece! Hmmm. Maybe also something was lost having to read it on the Kindle. (Poetry is always best on a printed page.) I hadn't read his work before but was keen - he has a trendy brand and seems to be the 'coolest' writer around. After reading the other reviews here, maybe I should try his debut collection and try again.

Unfortunately with all my love towards authors "On Earth we are briefly gorgeous" book, I couldn't savour his prose work.

It's just a personal opinion, but so many things felt simply out of place for me.

With prose works, they have to resonate with a reader, and this time, this book, just didn't feel right.