Lung Capacity

by Mae Setrova

A heartbreakingly beautiful poetry collection focusing on the many emotions and stages we go through after a heartbreak, while also touching on topics like grief, motherhood as a young woman, mental illness, the complicated relationship one can have with their parents, and growing up.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

179 pages, Hardcover

Published August 10, 2024

Reviews

[Mae Setrova · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10, would write again.

[Nicole Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I was an angry child that grew into an angry woman and a woman that carries this kind of rage is difficult to want or love."

[Monica Downe · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOOD

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest. Raw. Relatable. Visceral.

Mae Setrova's collection of poetry and prose is a stunning work. Filled with honesty and soul, her pieces speak to the universality of grief, loss, heartbreak, hope, and resilience while being unique to her voice and experience.

Poignant and reflective, this poetry is beautifully written and speaks to the female experience, processing love, loss, and their impacts on the rest of our lives.

I highly recommend this collection!

[Lucy Gould · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for sending me this free copy. The following review represents my honest opinion.

This poetry collection is very touching. I specifically enjoyed the poems about grief. My only complaint is that some of the poems lingered too long on the same person/situation for me. I found myself skipping through some of the poems to move on to a different focus.

[Jenna Malin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was honored to sent an ARC of this book, and I must say, Lung Capacity is an amazing debut collection. Nostalgic and relatable and devastatingly beautiful. I felt every single poem down to the bone, her imagery was so vivid. I loved the rhythm of her prose and her clever use of assonance and metaphor. Very unique, and not at all redundant or cliche. A 5 star read I can’t WAIT to read again!

[abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely fantastic collection of poems about childhood, trauma, grief, loss, and so many more deep emotions that i could heavily relate to. reading this book was like seeing my own feelings and experiences written down on paper for me, almost as if it was my own blood that made the ink and my own mind that conjured each line. i absolutely devoured this book in one sitting, crying over my kindle while also finding so much inspiration for my own writing. everyone, please read this book, it’s so amazing.

[Alan Hoang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found Mae's work through TikTok. It slowly started with just a few of their poems on my For You Page, I really connected with their work and decided to follow and see what they were putting out. I really fell in love with the way they have a way of capturing all their feelings in words in a way that is super relatable. The dedication reads as this "For anyone who clings to the what-ifs and grieves what will never be." This book is one of my must reads for anyone going through heartbreak and self-healing, know that we are not alone and that there are other people feeling the same way. Thank you Mae for all these beautiful poems! Can't wait for more reads!

[Alexandra Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lung Capacity is an incredibly moving book! I found so many of Mae's words to be resonating with my own journey through life. The writing in this collection holds great depth. And the imagery and atmosphere is captured so well throughout the entire book. Highly recommend!

[Hollow kiwi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got this for free and almost DNF'd so many times, but kept going so I could assess it fairly. The author giving her own book 5* on here REALLY gives me the ick, I can't lie (weird look, no?).

It's very similar to Courtney Peppernell and Rupi Kaur's style of modern poetry, where it's less about rhythm, melody and romantic, effective words, and more about 3am phone notes app thoughts- where clumsily struggling to make a point is always part of the point, and procrastination is romanticised over and over pretty much every time.

Regarding the style, each entry feels like it drags itself out, using so many words and languishing in its own indulgence, drawing out each 'point' so much that the reader is left with nothing to muse over or think further on.

Regarding the content... yeah, affirmations, lamenting your boyfriend following adult models on instagram (yep- that got two poems) and deleting snapchats are not really cutting it for me, though even the themes I often find myself drawn to reading, such as: maternal disconnection, grief and sisterly bonds did not resonate with me personally at all, because I didn't like how oversimplified the poems made them. I couldn't relate at all and trying made me frustrated.

My issue with the writing is that it's so on-the-nose, and offers such a banal, normal way of expressing such complex sentiments. Lines such as: 'I hope you never manage to forget me', 'I will not be silenced for someone else's comfort any longer', 'I love you and I am unable to stop' etc. feel like they should be springboards for what the poetic lines stem from: not part of the poems themselves. It feels like poetry for people who don't understand the concept of literary techniques, or those who like things to be directly spelled out with no extra introspection required. I thought the simple, one sentence entries, like: 'I hope time really does take the feeling away' were the strongest because they hit hard and leave the rest to the readers imagination.

Again, I know that messy and meandering is the point of this style, but it feels so low effort and uninspiring to me personally.

[A. Ikram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hurts in the right way. It makes my heart ache in a way that I know tears won't do anything to help! It's a masterpiece, and I love it so much. I spent the whole time reading it with a heavy heart, millions of wounds bleeding, and my lungs seem to reach their capacity, for I can't breathe correctly anymore. It's beautiful, amazing, and a pure masterpiece. I have many favorite poems from this book that should be framed in my room. Every word feels like a stitch in the fabric of my emotions, mending and tearing all at once. The raw honesty and depth of feeling in these pages are unparalleled. If you need a book that is emotionally raw and packed, then you should really consider this book. It’s not just a read; it's an experience that lingers long after the last page.

[lurlz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I didn’t connect with every poem in this book, but the ones I did connect with felt meaningful and personal. They brought up memories and emotions I hadn’t visited in a while, which led me to reflect on my life. I’ve always loved poetry, and this collection made me reflect on why I ever stepped away from it.

[Aili · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this significantly more than other poetry books that I have read. This was very much “base line” poetry. The author even mentions that you can probably find the overlying topics in other poetry books, but I truly appreciate how simple, yet impactful this poetry is.

I’m not a big poetry reader, but I dislike when a poem is too “on the nose.”

[Rose Brik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading Mae's poetry on tiktok for a few years and was so excited to hear she was publishing her own collection. This debut poetry collection DOES NOT disappoint! I also loved the Playlist that went along with reading the book.

"In a another world, I do not exist. But my mother gets to live, not just survive"

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reflections

Wow what a journey. Highly recommend this book to anyone struggling with loss, grief, and pain. As a 40 year old man I found myself taken aback by the honesty this author brings out about her life and relationships.

[erna · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love

[Karly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 Stars

I loved this one, and my highlighter definitely got a workout. Some of my favourite poetry this year.

[Jazz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of poems quite literally TORE at my heart strings. I don't think there was a single poem in the "for the hearts that still bleed" section that I didn't highlight.

[Nola Weintraub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very raw and genuine. I’m glad I read it.

[. ݁✧༺ Danyka ༻☽ ݁. · Rating 5 out of 5]

“you died and are the only one who can get me through it”

♡

[Alexa Lombardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hurts my heart

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some poems resonated with me deeply - others did not connect with me at all.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

maybe most of this poetry book wasn't relatable for me, but the poems that were did stand out, and all of it, regardless of relatability, was quite beautifully done