I was expecting this book to be the first book all over again.
In that regard, they are very similar. Reading them back to back gave the impression that some of the poems were essentially recycled from book to book.
“Unclipping my bra, we are naughty now”
That said- this is actually just right. Its a follow up gift to the first book. If you were right for the first book you would be right for this book, it invokes the same feelings and the same emotions.
The failure the first book had for me was that once I shared it with my ex (who I want back), she immediately recommended better poetry books and poems and resources. So they really can’t be the poem reading crowd.
The short story segments between poems becomes much more graphic and intense.
There are poems that are more deeply found in romance in this book compared to the first as well. His writing style over all is the same- though he starts offering cultural relics that let you know where he is from and some of his values (Mentioning Alice in Wonderland, 42). He did have some of this before with running themes of fireworks. There was just a touch more from pop culture.
Toward the end there are some much longer sections of story, that seem quite clearly not written for me. I hope it is enjoyed by the target audience. It intensely reminds me of the writing my UK paramour used to write in letters speaking of her life, trying to be clever with her stories. They were probably true, but they were very performative.
Unlike the first book, I didn’t share any of the poems with others and I didn’t share the book directly with others for feedback. This is probably more from fatigue of reading a very similar book then it is from a lack of interest.- but because I didn’t share the poems at all I didn’t get the typical outsider perspective on presentation.
