Vuong, Ocean

"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. 'Time Is a mother' moves outward and onward, in concert with the themes of 'On Earth we're briefly gorgeous', as Vuong continues, through his work, his profound 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"--Provided by publisher.

Little Dog gives a letter to his mother who can't read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born. A history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known; all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity.

A haunting debut that is simultaneously dreamlike and visceral, vulnerable and redemptive, and risks the painful rewards of emotional honesty.