joelleslibrary's review against another edition
3.0
I received this as an Ebook ARC in exchange for a review through NetGalley. So, Stranger was published on May 17, 2022!
I flew through this book! And adored almost all of it! The writing style and importance of this work is beautiful and I found myself having to reread some of the poems several times because they felt as if they just hit in the best way. But there were a few things I had issues with, the first one being how short the collection was. There were moments where I felt like more ideas could have been spoken of along with how a few of the poems were formatted in a. way that I personally thought didn't make sense.
But overall this was a great collection of pieces that makes you really think which I enjoyed!
I flew through this book! And adored almost all of it! The writing style and importance of this work is beautiful and I found myself having to reread some of the poems several times because they felt as if they just hit in the best way. But there were a few things I had issues with, the first one being how short the collection was. There were moments where I felt like more ideas could have been spoken of along with how a few of the poems were formatted in a. way that I personally thought didn't make sense.
But overall this was a great collection of pieces that makes you really think which I enjoyed!
coldsoup's review against another edition
4.0
This collection of poetry explores the notions of identity, family and what it is growing up as a woman. The poet’s style is punchy and vocal. The words read as if they are lifted off the page and they take on a life of their own.
My favourite poem is « On the First Day of Planting, My Grandmother Becomes Her Garden », though it was really tough to chose just one.
My favourite poem is « On the First Day of Planting, My Grandmother Becomes Her Garden », though it was really tough to chose just one.
twiinklex's review against another edition
3.0
A heartfelt poetry collection about self-discovery, identity, love, family, heritage and the immigration experience. I didn't connect with all of the poems, but my favourites are the ones in which the author contemplates her complicated relationship with her father and her experiences as an Indian woman in America. I also really enjoyed 'Poem in Which I Am Too Uncomfortable to Talk About Race, So I Talk About Baseball Instead' and 'Lover Of Light'.
Thank you to Button Poetry and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.
Thank you to Button Poetry and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.
kylareadssometimes's review against another edition
5.0
~So, Stranger~ by Topaz Winters, pub date May 17, 2022
5/5 stars
Poetry, Memoir, Multicultural
"Make no mistake: this is not a story about fullness, it is a story about starvation. / We are so hungry we are bloody. So hungry we are frantic. So hungry / we may never eat again"
The thing I love most about poetry is how it is pretty to look at yet dangerously powerful to read and understand. Topaz Winters takes the purest and darkest human emotions and pours it raw onto the page, She writes from the perspective of "the daughter"; a third generation immigrant's journey of self discovery, resentment, forgiveness, her relationship with their parents, and their bittersweet connection to the generations before her.
"my rage is the spitting image of my father's, but unlike him / I have no right to it."
The poems speak for the immigrant experience, especially the third generation. However, their words will resonate with anybody suspended in that strange and confusing place between timelines and cultures- anyone who feels displaced in their own life. It's about being born into the world wearing the skin of your ancestors who have suffered before you, but feeling like you don't deserve the rage and strife that comes with it. After all, you're doing much better than they ever could, aren't you?
"America says I am disappointed in you & I say join the damn club"
It's always easy to feel unheard and insignificant when you don't check all the boxes of the "perfect American citizen". Topaz Winters write about the life of a woman, a person of color, and someone on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum- all perspectives that are seriously lacking in all genres of literature and therefore cherished by people who identify in the same way.
"Dimples. Seizures. Daytime. / What we inherit. What / we owe."
Structurally, the poems are broken into six subsections, or arcs poetica. I loved how the individual poems switched styles, from 2 line stanzas to large chunks of text to paragraphs with deliberate spaces between phrases. All the poems are brief, 1 1/2 page max, which makes for a quick read and easy rereads of particular sections. I read it in almost one sitting, and I hope to purchase a physical copy when it is released!
Thank you to NetGalley and Button Publishers for the chance to read and review this story :)
#SoStranger #NetGalley
5/5 stars
Poetry, Memoir, Multicultural
"Make no mistake: this is not a story about fullness, it is a story about starvation. / We are so hungry we are bloody. So hungry we are frantic. So hungry / we may never eat again"
The thing I love most about poetry is how it is pretty to look at yet dangerously powerful to read and understand. Topaz Winters takes the purest and darkest human emotions and pours it raw onto the page, She writes from the perspective of "the daughter"; a third generation immigrant's journey of self discovery, resentment, forgiveness, her relationship with their parents, and their bittersweet connection to the generations before her.
"my rage is the spitting image of my father's, but unlike him / I have no right to it."
The poems speak for the immigrant experience, especially the third generation. However, their words will resonate with anybody suspended in that strange and confusing place between timelines and cultures- anyone who feels displaced in their own life. It's about being born into the world wearing the skin of your ancestors who have suffered before you, but feeling like you don't deserve the rage and strife that comes with it. After all, you're doing much better than they ever could, aren't you?
"America says I am disappointed in you & I say join the damn club"
It's always easy to feel unheard and insignificant when you don't check all the boxes of the "perfect American citizen". Topaz Winters write about the life of a woman, a person of color, and someone on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum- all perspectives that are seriously lacking in all genres of literature and therefore cherished by people who identify in the same way.
"Dimples. Seizures. Daytime. / What we inherit. What / we owe."
Structurally, the poems are broken into six subsections, or arcs poetica. I loved how the individual poems switched styles, from 2 line stanzas to large chunks of text to paragraphs with deliberate spaces between phrases. All the poems are brief, 1 1/2 page max, which makes for a quick read and easy rereads of particular sections. I read it in almost one sitting, and I hope to purchase a physical copy when it is released!
Thank you to NetGalley and Button Publishers for the chance to read and review this story :)
#SoStranger #NetGalley
cgcpoems's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
This was a collection about returning — to your lineage, your self, your home. It investigates what lineage leads to, who we are independent of it, & where we go when we need to be held. Topaz Winters knows language intimately & it is always such a gift to read their work!