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Love, Anyways: Because the Apple Trees Blossom
Even in a ruined world, something still dares to bloom.
Love is not the answer. It is the question that keeps us alive.
In Love, Anyways , Vietnamese-Canadian author Thanh Dinh gathers a constellation of stories about the endurance of tenderness in an unkind world. Each piece examines the quiet corners of human existence—loneliness, guilt, memory, faith, and the fragile ways people try to love despite the certainty of loss.
A man tends to an apple tree after a war that has already taken everything from him. Two women argue about the meaning of goodness while bombs fall outside their window. A writer searches for the right words to confess her sins to a past she can never reclaim. A son returns home to bury the mother who never learned how to say she loved him. Across landscapes of ruin and redemption, Dinh’s characters live not to be saved—but to feel.
Her prose is poetic yet precise, tender yet unflinching, echoing the existential lyricism of Ocean Vuong, Yiyun Li, and Hanya Yanagihara. Through sentences that hum with quiet rebellion, Dinh transforms suffering into a kind of grace—a beauty born not of comfort, but of endurance.
The title—Because the Apple Trees Blossom—serves as both confession and a reminder that life continues even when it shouldn’t. The apple trees bloom not because they are spared from evil, but because blooming is their only language of survival.
For readers of literary short fiction, Asian diaspora stories, and LGBTQ+ philosophical fiction, this collection will resonate long after the last page. Each story stands as an elegy and a rebellion, whispering the same
Love, even when it’s hopeless.
Love, even when it hurts.
Love, anyways.
About the
Thanh Dinh is a Vietnamese-Canadian writer and poet. Her work explores grief, queerness, diaspora, and the sacred violence of survival. She is the author of The Smallest God Who Ever Lived, Salt & Ashes, Chronicle of a Love Foretold, and the forthcoming Kill My Darling.
Love, Because the Apple Trees Blossom is a haunting, luminous meditation on the persistence of beauty—proof that even in the ashes of history, something human still dares to bloom.
Love is not the answer. It is the question that keeps us alive.
In Love, Anyways , Vietnamese-Canadian author Thanh Dinh gathers a constellation of stories about the endurance of tenderness in an unkind world. Each piece examines the quiet corners of human existence—loneliness, guilt, memory, faith, and the fragile ways people try to love despite the certainty of loss.
A man tends to an apple tree after a war that has already taken everything from him. Two women argue about the meaning of goodness while bombs fall outside their window. A writer searches for the right words to confess her sins to a past she can never reclaim. A son returns home to bury the mother who never learned how to say she loved him. Across landscapes of ruin and redemption, Dinh’s characters live not to be saved—but to feel.
Her prose is poetic yet precise, tender yet unflinching, echoing the existential lyricism of Ocean Vuong, Yiyun Li, and Hanya Yanagihara. Through sentences that hum with quiet rebellion, Dinh transforms suffering into a kind of grace—a beauty born not of comfort, but of endurance.
The title—Because the Apple Trees Blossom—serves as both confession and a reminder that life continues even when it shouldn’t. The apple trees bloom not because they are spared from evil, but because blooming is their only language of survival.
For readers of literary short fiction, Asian diaspora stories, and LGBTQ+ philosophical fiction, this collection will resonate long after the last page. Each story stands as an elegy and a rebellion, whispering the same
Love, even when it’s hopeless.
Love, even when it hurts.
Love, anyways.
About the
Thanh Dinh is a Vietnamese-Canadian writer and poet. Her work explores grief, queerness, diaspora, and the sacred violence of survival. She is the author of The Smallest God Who Ever Lived, Salt & Ashes, Chronicle of a Love Foretold, and the forthcoming Kill My Darling.
Love, Because the Apple Trees Blossom is a haunting, luminous meditation on the persistence of beauty—proof that even in the ashes of history, something human still dares to bloom.
186 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 24, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 25, 2025
Love, Anyways: Because The Apple Trees Blossom written by Thanh Dinh was heart breaking, powerful, inspiring, honest, emotional, and deeply moving. I have never heard of this author before, but goodness gracious she broke my heart with nearly every poem she wrote, I will definitely have to read more by Thanh Dinh in the months and years ahead. I went into this poetry collection blind and I'm so glad I did because it made the poems that more emotional, you just didn't know what you were going to get with each turning page. What actually caught my attention was that beautiful flowery cover and the title- Love, Anyways: Because The Apple Trees Blossom. Poetry isn't really my thing, but when authors write poems that deeply move you to tears or their poems resonate with you, then poetry is worth reading in my honest opinion. The only thing I will say is that NOT every poem is going to be for everyone, whereas other poems will directly speak to a reader. I honestly didn't know what to expect going into this book blind, but I sure as heck didn't go in expecting my heart to be shattered with nearly every poem that was written by this talented author. In my review, I will list a few poems that directly touched my heart, but please just keep in mind that a certain poem might not touch you the way it did for me. If you want to read a poetry collection that will bring out all of your emotions, then you need to mark your calendars for November 24th, 2025 for the publication of Love, Anyways: Because The Apple Trees Blossom written by Thanh Dinh.
THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND WRITERLY BOOKS FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!
TRIGGER WARNING'S
~War~
~Death~
~Suicide~
~Hallucinations~
~Mentions of Rape~
~Murder~
💗🔥Burnin' Love💗🔥- This poem is about a man named Mr. L and an unnamed woman. Mr. L and this unnamed woman have been in love with each other for years, and their relationship is an age gap- he was nearly sixty years old, and she was thirty years old. Between the both of these characters- there have been thirty years of suffering, pain, and agony. Half of the unnamed woman's life has been spent chasing after the ghost Mr. L made. Both of their souls burn in hell for the sins that were committed during their relationship. Their love actually ignited when they laid eyes on each other at the city theater the unnamed woman worked at. Despite the bumps in their relationship, this woman hadn't learned her lesson of letting go yet, even after Mr. L passed away. Mr. L had the yes of a heart broken widow, he's been through enough to forgive life. "I immersed myself in the ocean of love between me and the star I could never reach".
📦In The Box📦- M is our protagonist, wakes up in a state of confusion on a tiny bed that tightly squeezes his bony human frame. When M wakes up, he can barely stretch because at the end of his bed is a wall, M is in a box made of cement, which he believes is an eternal prison. The world just keeps on moving outside without him. M is just a forgotten missing person. During his time in the box, there is no beginnings and no ends for M. He just believes the box is a deserving punishment. M has been on many different medications for more than twenty years because he suffers from bipolar depression and schizophrenia. "Choose the prison. Your freedom lies in the right to choose the prison you live inside".
🗑🚛The Death in the Garbage Truck🗑🚛- N is our protagonist, his corpse was stuck and crushed inside of a garbage truck, no one knows what happened because the real issue was never discussed. N's mom collects his insurance money and his wife collects whatever is left of his corpse for a burial ceremony. I don't know if there weren't enough funds to investigate the death of N because the manual labor town he lived and worked in was very poor, or the higher ups just didn't want the towns people to really know what happened to N. "The poor die first; the rich come later. Good people go under so evil can cross over".
I just listed three poems that touched my heart or made me emotional, there were many more, and I didn't list the whole poem in my review, I just gave a little back story on the one's that touched me and or broke my heart, but please remember to check the trigger warning's- they are also listed above in the beginning of my review, also keep in mind that the poem's I listed won't affect others the way they did for me. I truly wanted to talk about every poem that broke my heart, but I also want other readers to feel the pain I felt while reading this poetry collection, so please do yourselves a favor and make sure you have a box of tissues next to you while you go through the emotional turmoil I experienced while reading Love, Anyways: Because The Apple Trees Blossom. I can't express this enough- please please take care of yourselves, reach out if you need to talk, my messages are always open- please don't ever hesitate to reach out if you need to. It's okay to ask for help- you don't deserve to suffer in silence. Don't let that pretty cover fool you, the poems were truly beautiful, but they will shred your heart and soul to pieces. Thank you Thanh for breaking my heart and leaving me a mess.
THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND WRITERLY BOOKS FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!
TRIGGER WARNING'S
~War~
~Death~
~Suicide~
~Hallucinations~
~Mentions of Rape~
~Murder~
💗🔥Burnin' Love💗🔥- This poem is about a man named Mr. L and an unnamed woman. Mr. L and this unnamed woman have been in love with each other for years, and their relationship is an age gap- he was nearly sixty years old, and she was thirty years old. Between the both of these characters- there have been thirty years of suffering, pain, and agony. Half of the unnamed woman's life has been spent chasing after the ghost Mr. L made. Both of their souls burn in hell for the sins that were committed during their relationship. Their love actually ignited when they laid eyes on each other at the city theater the unnamed woman worked at. Despite the bumps in their relationship, this woman hadn't learned her lesson of letting go yet, even after Mr. L passed away. Mr. L had the yes of a heart broken widow, he's been through enough to forgive life. "I immersed myself in the ocean of love between me and the star I could never reach".
📦In The Box📦- M is our protagonist, wakes up in a state of confusion on a tiny bed that tightly squeezes his bony human frame. When M wakes up, he can barely stretch because at the end of his bed is a wall, M is in a box made of cement, which he believes is an eternal prison. The world just keeps on moving outside without him. M is just a forgotten missing person. During his time in the box, there is no beginnings and no ends for M. He just believes the box is a deserving punishment. M has been on many different medications for more than twenty years because he suffers from bipolar depression and schizophrenia. "Choose the prison. Your freedom lies in the right to choose the prison you live inside".
🗑🚛The Death in the Garbage Truck🗑🚛- N is our protagonist, his corpse was stuck and crushed inside of a garbage truck, no one knows what happened because the real issue was never discussed. N's mom collects his insurance money and his wife collects whatever is left of his corpse for a burial ceremony. I don't know if there weren't enough funds to investigate the death of N because the manual labor town he lived and worked in was very poor, or the higher ups just didn't want the towns people to really know what happened to N. "The poor die first; the rich come later. Good people go under so evil can cross over".
I just listed three poems that touched my heart or made me emotional, there were many more, and I didn't list the whole poem in my review, I just gave a little back story on the one's that touched me and or broke my heart, but please remember to check the trigger warning's- they are also listed above in the beginning of my review, also keep in mind that the poem's I listed won't affect others the way they did for me. I truly wanted to talk about every poem that broke my heart, but I also want other readers to feel the pain I felt while reading this poetry collection, so please do yourselves a favor and make sure you have a box of tissues next to you while you go through the emotional turmoil I experienced while reading Love, Anyways: Because The Apple Trees Blossom. I can't express this enough- please please take care of yourselves, reach out if you need to talk, my messages are always open- please don't ever hesitate to reach out if you need to. It's okay to ask for help- you don't deserve to suffer in silence. Don't let that pretty cover fool you, the poems were truly beautiful, but they will shred your heart and soul to pieces. Thank you Thanh for breaking my heart and leaving me a mess.
November 11, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
I absolutely loved this collection of short stories. (Almost) every single one touched me in a unique way in their humanness. I do not think I can pick a favourite, nor do I want to.
I can say, though, that especially the story of Mr. Nguyen and the psychiatrist resonated with me personally. I of course don't share Mr. Nguyen's experiences with war, but I have my fair share of experiences with psychiatries and psychiatrists, and the way the psychiatrist so stubbornly insisted on being right, on having the one true answer, not even entertaining Mr. Nguyen's own interpretations of his experiences, his own thoughts and wishes, reminded me (sadly) very much of my own experiences. The dismissive attitude towards hallucinations - "the point of hallucination [sic] is that it's never real" - is something I have met so many times, and something that ignores the impact hallucinations have on the person experiencing them. They ARE real, as real as it gets, and if you cannot acknowledge this, that is the first step to failure; as is the insistence on "the good of society", ignoring the individual, their circumstances and wishes. The individual does not matter in this system. The aim is to whittle away at them until they can safely be "released" back into society, regardless of what this means for them.
Similar themes on the human condition are found in all the short stories, and really, if I had to choose which stories touched me the most, which were my favourites, I'd probably list 90% of the stories in this collection. The prose is absolutely beautiful, making me want to read these stories over and over again, and I'm very glad I chose to pick up this collection. Definitely recommend, 10/10.
I absolutely loved this collection of short stories. (Almost) every single one touched me in a unique way in their humanness. I do not think I can pick a favourite, nor do I want to.
I can say, though, that especially the story of Mr. Nguyen and the psychiatrist resonated with me personally. I of course don't share Mr. Nguyen's experiences with war, but I have my fair share of experiences with psychiatries and psychiatrists, and the way the psychiatrist so stubbornly insisted on being right, on having the one true answer, not even entertaining Mr. Nguyen's own interpretations of his experiences, his own thoughts and wishes, reminded me (sadly) very much of my own experiences. The dismissive attitude towards hallucinations - "the point of hallucination [sic] is that it's never real" - is something I have met so many times, and something that ignores the impact hallucinations have on the person experiencing them. They ARE real, as real as it gets, and if you cannot acknowledge this, that is the first step to failure; as is the insistence on "the good of society", ignoring the individual, their circumstances and wishes. The individual does not matter in this system. The aim is to whittle away at them until they can safely be "released" back into society, regardless of what this means for them.
Similar themes on the human condition are found in all the short stories, and really, if I had to choose which stories touched me the most, which were my favourites, I'd probably list 90% of the stories in this collection. The prose is absolutely beautiful, making me want to read these stories over and over again, and I'm very glad I chose to pick up this collection. Definitely recommend, 10/10.
November 22, 2025
This book is a collection of many stories, each one completely distinct from the others. They fall under similar emotional categories, yet none of them directly connect, which makes every story feel like a fresh experience. Each has its own backstory and its own meaning, leaving a unique aftertaste.
If you enjoy short stories centred around grief, loss, sadness, and some darker thoughts, you will really appreciate this collection.
One of my favourite aspects was the variety in time periods and characters. Some stories happen in the modern day, while others feature princes, princesses, a mountain personified as a woman, or even a monk. The monk’s story is just one example of the mystical, symbolic depth that appears across the entire book and still feels relevant to today.
The writing style is phenomenal. Each story has such a distinct voice that it’s hard to believe they were written by a single author. It’s clear how much time and care the author invested in perfecting her craft.
Even though these are short stories, each one creates its own world, and they truly work best in this form. With strong openings, endings, and beautifully chosen titles, this collection feels crafted with intention and skill.
Nothing I say can fully capture how impressive the author’s work truly is.
If you enjoy short stories centred around grief, loss, sadness, and some darker thoughts, you will really appreciate this collection.
One of my favourite aspects was the variety in time periods and characters. Some stories happen in the modern day, while others feature princes, princesses, a mountain personified as a woman, or even a monk. The monk’s story is just one example of the mystical, symbolic depth that appears across the entire book and still feels relevant to today.
The writing style is phenomenal. Each story has such a distinct voice that it’s hard to believe they were written by a single author. It’s clear how much time and care the author invested in perfecting her craft.
Even though these are short stories, each one creates its own world, and they truly work best in this form. With strong openings, endings, and beautifully chosen titles, this collection feels crafted with intention and skill.
Nothing I say can fully capture how impressive the author’s work truly is.
January 22, 2026
Dancing between three to four stars. I'm rounding up because of the variety of genres and narrators within the stories as a whole. And why not, let's support more indie authors.
Sometimes the prose felt overwritten and repetitive. Other times, a paragraph would ping my heartstrings with the sweetest song. It's a mixed bag for me, depending on the story. Many of them felt like sci-fi stories with flowery exposition and invisible hearts at the end of each sentence. I wasn't the biggest fan of multiple characters telling us or repeating the story's inferred emotional beats through their dialogue.
Yet I enjoyed the compassionate heartbeat that links them all: a stubborn desire for more. To lose the "im" in impossible with yearning and hope. Even though it's in the title, I wouldn't say it was love as there were certain stories where it felt like "loving love."
Perhaps that's love enough in the narrator's eyes.
This is the second prose book from Dinh that I've read, and I like how the shorter story length challenges her storytelling. I'd like to see that in her novel writing too, if I happen to read another one from her. I enjoyed this one overall.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Sometimes the prose felt overwritten and repetitive. Other times, a paragraph would ping my heartstrings with the sweetest song. It's a mixed bag for me, depending on the story. Many of them felt like sci-fi stories with flowery exposition and invisible hearts at the end of each sentence. I wasn't the biggest fan of multiple characters telling us or repeating the story's inferred emotional beats through their dialogue.
Yet I enjoyed the compassionate heartbeat that links them all: a stubborn desire for more. To lose the "im" in impossible with yearning and hope. Even though it's in the title, I wouldn't say it was love as there were certain stories where it felt like "loving love."
Perhaps that's love enough in the narrator's eyes.
This is the second prose book from Dinh that I've read, and I like how the shorter story length challenges her storytelling. I'd like to see that in her novel writing too, if I happen to read another one from her. I enjoyed this one overall.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 6, 2025
ARC Review
*Love, Anyways* by Thanh Dinh
This collection of short stories truly took me by surprise. Each piece felt like a quiet revelation — distinct, emotionally layered, and written with such care that even the simplest lines carried weight. Thanh Dinh’s prose has this effortless flow, where every word feels deliberate and deeply felt.
While I connected with several stories, “In the Box” stood out most to me. There was something raw and hauntingly beautiful about it — a reminder of how love can take shape even in silence and loss.
What I loved most is how every story holds its own emotional essence. Some left me thoughtful, others a little heartbroken, but all of them made me pause. Love, Anyways captures the small, unspoken moments that define what it means to love and be loved.
💫 A tender, intimate, and beautifully written collection — one that lingers long after you close the last page.
*Love, Anyways* by Thanh Dinh
This collection of short stories truly took me by surprise. Each piece felt like a quiet revelation — distinct, emotionally layered, and written with such care that even the simplest lines carried weight. Thanh Dinh’s prose has this effortless flow, where every word feels deliberate and deeply felt.
While I connected with several stories, “In the Box” stood out most to me. There was something raw and hauntingly beautiful about it — a reminder of how love can take shape even in silence and loss.
What I loved most is how every story holds its own emotional essence. Some left me thoughtful, others a little heartbroken, but all of them made me pause. Love, Anyways captures the small, unspoken moments that define what it means to love and be loved.
💫 A tender, intimate, and beautifully written collection — one that lingers long after you close the last page.
November 10, 2025
The cover, title, and synopsis combined immediately drew me to the book and I assumed it would be the exact type of literature I enjoy. I was excited when I found out I was approved on NetGalley by the publisher to receive an ARC.
The entire collection was more than I expected, both in terms of subjects and depth/meaning. Perhaps it's because I typically find myself adverse to anthologies, but some stories left me wanting more context and/or just more content. Yet at the same time, some stories made me want to re-read them over and over again to unpack something new each time.
I'm not sure if this is for an average "casual poetry/prose" reader, but I am definitely excited to recommend it to my fellow queer/trans Asian diaspora friends and creative writing communities.
The entire collection was more than I expected, both in terms of subjects and depth/meaning. Perhaps it's because I typically find myself adverse to anthologies, but some stories left me wanting more context and/or just more content. Yet at the same time, some stories made me want to re-read them over and over again to unpack something new each time.
I'm not sure if this is for an average "casual poetry/prose" reader, but I am definitely excited to recommend it to my fellow queer/trans Asian diaspora friends and creative writing communities.
November 22, 2025
A collection of short stories that explore love in its different forms. It’s intimate and so very human. All the stories have their own life within them. They all capture the little things, the unspoken things, everything about love. All separate, yet connected by similar themes. The connection and care that makes us human.
If I had to pick my favorites among these short stories they would be Lost in Translation: An Essay in Conversation and Until The Darkness Beyond. These two stories just really resonated with me.
Thank you Net Galley for the eARC.
If I had to pick my favorites among these short stories they would be Lost in Translation: An Essay in Conversation and Until The Darkness Beyond. These two stories just really resonated with me.
Thank you Net Galley for the eARC.
December 27, 2025
ARC review that is a little late. Thanks to both Netgalley and Writerly Books for this copy.
This was a really interesting and beautiful collection of short stories. To me the strongest elements were the focuses on love and goodness and what that means and how our pursuit of love may not be the healthiest but in the end our lives are still beautiful despite our flaws.
I don't read short story compilations very often but I'm really glad I was able to dive into this.
This was a really interesting and beautiful collection of short stories. To me the strongest elements were the focuses on love and goodness and what that means and how our pursuit of love may not be the healthiest but in the end our lives are still beautiful despite our flaws.
I don't read short story compilations very often but I'm really glad I was able to dive into this.
November 22, 2025
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Writerly Books for sending me this arc!
This is one of those books that you read and think 'WOW, I should recommend this book to everyone', so here I am putting it out in the world, pick this beautiful collection of stories because you will definitely find anchor atleast in one of them and it's going to take you on journey of reflection and selfdiscovery.
This is one of those books that you read and think 'WOW, I should recommend this book to everyone', so here I am putting it out in the world, pick this beautiful collection of stories because you will definitely find anchor atleast in one of them and it's going to take you on journey of reflection and selfdiscovery.
October 26, 2025
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Lovely, lyrical short stories from a fresh literary perspective.
Lovely, lyrical short stories from a fresh literary perspective.
November 17, 2025
Love, Anyways is the fourth book I have read from Thanh Dinh, and at this point, I can confidently say that I am biased, but for a good reason. Dinh’s prose has a quiet precision that I deeply admire, and her storytelling always feels both tender and sharp. Also, the cover is absolutely beautiful.
This collection is quite different from her poetry. It consists of short stories that explore the many forms of love and the lingering wars we carry within ourselves. Each story touches on themes of longing, identity, faith, memory, and the quiet moments that shape who we become. They are reflective and sometimes dark, yet they never feel hopeless. Instead, they create a space for thoughts and feelings you may have had before but never managed to articulate.
One of the things I love most about reading Dinh is how her work invites you to think and to question the assumptions you hold about yourself and others. The prose here is slightly different from her poems. It is more narrative and more expansive, but it still carries the softness and depth that I associate with her voice. I found this shift incredibly skillful.
I received this copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This collection is quite different from her poetry. It consists of short stories that explore the many forms of love and the lingering wars we carry within ourselves. Each story touches on themes of longing, identity, faith, memory, and the quiet moments that shape who we become. They are reflective and sometimes dark, yet they never feel hopeless. Instead, they create a space for thoughts and feelings you may have had before but never managed to articulate.
One of the things I love most about reading Dinh is how her work invites you to think and to question the assumptions you hold about yourself and others. The prose here is slightly different from her poems. It is more narrative and more expansive, but it still carries the softness and depth that I associate with her voice. I found this shift incredibly skillful.
I received this copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
December 28, 2025
“He never thought one day, the things he sacrificed will be reduced to dust, and people will go on killing one another, filled with hatred and division. This is not the peace he had fought with blood and tears for. But nothing matters now.” The short story collection, Love, Anyways, by Thanh Dinh, takes readers through fourteen meaningful tales that remind us of the importance of care and connection that make us human, even when other parts of our lives may be falling apart. Especially moving are the LGBTQ+ stories that carry a disheartening sorrow yet still find meaning and purpose from heartbreak. Stories, such as “Is It True,” explore the unclear lines and often intermingling between love and cruelty, as Dinh confronts the darkness of fidelity, written with heartbreaking emotional precision.
I received an advance complimentary copy and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
I received an advance complimentary copy and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews