What do you think?
the end comes on without a gasp
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 31, 2026
I had the opportunity to meet Trish Shishikura last PBF and I’ll be completely honest, I picked this up because of the cover and the title.
What changed after finishing this? It’s the feeling of admiration for the author who bravely spilled her deepest thoughts on life, changes, grief, and growing up through an openness that reflected in each poem.
In this review, let me show some of the poems that I loved (most I already shared on my Instagram Stories)
In Magnitude, the author awskens the sense of familiarity with the feeling of being swept away by love. The quiet, undeniable pull of falling helplessly, beautifully in love painted as a scene, where the world is ending, and depicted by whispered words that are borderline desperate pleas.
In Interrogation Room, the balance of recognizing the question while also providing answers was met. This piece opens with the narrator interrogating herself about the man she is living with and in less than ten stanzas, the question transitioned from doubt (and self-doubt) to affection to comfort (and familiarity) until you reach the last dispute where a confirmation about what happened was made.
my twenties, abroad feels like a conversation with a friend you haven’t met in a long time. The experience in this poem resonated with me as someone who is trying (and failing miserably) to make the most of my twenties. This piece is a tender call that yes, life can give you the toughest moments at times but (cliche as it sounds) never giving up is the only option we have.
Other pieces like Tokyo (about a certain memory with her parents), Balikbyan (about encounters with lovers and how experiences transform to habits), and A Common Greeting to Say Farewell (interprets otsukaresama deshita or goodbye into different versions) are portrayals of the author’s prcess of growing up.
the end comes on without a gasp is a revelation. I picked it up because of the title and the cover but ended with an experience that journeyed me through loss, change, and belonging.
What changed after finishing this? It’s the feeling of admiration for the author who bravely spilled her deepest thoughts on life, changes, grief, and growing up through an openness that reflected in each poem.
In this review, let me show some of the poems that I loved (most I already shared on my Instagram Stories)
In Magnitude, the author awskens the sense of familiarity with the feeling of being swept away by love. The quiet, undeniable pull of falling helplessly, beautifully in love painted as a scene, where the world is ending, and depicted by whispered words that are borderline desperate pleas.
In Interrogation Room, the balance of recognizing the question while also providing answers was met. This piece opens with the narrator interrogating herself about the man she is living with and in less than ten stanzas, the question transitioned from doubt (and self-doubt) to affection to comfort (and familiarity) until you reach the last dispute where a confirmation about what happened was made.
my twenties, abroad feels like a conversation with a friend you haven’t met in a long time. The experience in this poem resonated with me as someone who is trying (and failing miserably) to make the most of my twenties. This piece is a tender call that yes, life can give you the toughest moments at times but (cliche as it sounds) never giving up is the only option we have.
Other pieces like Tokyo (about a certain memory with her parents), Balikbyan (about encounters with lovers and how experiences transform to habits), and A Common Greeting to Say Farewell (interprets otsukaresama deshita or goodbye into different versions) are portrayals of the author’s prcess of growing up.
the end comes on without a gasp is a revelation. I picked it up because of the title and the cover but ended with an experience that journeyed me through loss, change, and belonging.
July 23, 2026
I’ve thought about this and I’ll list everything I want to say and the reasons why I think you should read the end comes on without a gasp by Trish Shishikura (referencing my favorite, “I’ve dreamt about this,” p118):
1. It reminds you that poetry can witness, remember, and endure.
2. This book is beautiful. Inside and out.
3. Willing and Able by Noah Kahan
4. In this book, memory becomes both a refuge and a wound.
5. Vulnerability in the form of strength.
6. It will make you feel full and empty all at once.
7. The book made absence feel tangible.
8. Love.
9. It will invite you to pause instead of rushing to understand but will make you want to read more.
10. Grief. Grief is love with no place to go.
11. Maybe there’s someone close to you that you always miss. :)
12. You love poetry.
13. It is intimately beautiful. And breathtaking, really.
14. Even the acknowledgements made me cry.
15. The end came without a gasp indeed.
1. It reminds you that poetry can witness, remember, and endure.
2. This book is beautiful. Inside and out.
3. Willing and Able by Noah Kahan
4. In this book, memory becomes both a refuge and a wound.
5. Vulnerability in the form of strength.
6. It will make you feel full and empty all at once.
7. The book made absence feel tangible.
8. Love.
9. It will invite you to pause instead of rushing to understand but will make you want to read more.
10. Grief. Grief is love with no place to go.
11. Maybe there’s someone close to you that you always miss. :)
12. You love poetry.
13. It is intimately beautiful. And breathtaking, really.
14. Even the acknowledgements made me cry.
15. The end came without a gasp indeed.
July 28, 2026
It is scary to read someone’s story, especially when it is full of trauma and melancholy. It almost feels like stepping into someone’s private world and discovering the darker parts of her history.
I felt intimidated before opening this book—just from the cover and blurb. I was both scared and intrigued when I realized it was about grief and loss. Then, when I encountered the violence within its pages, I was left speechless. Even though not everything is clear, the sadness and longing of the author can still be felt deeply. Some of the poems stabbed me like a knife—it cut me so deep. It hurt, yet it was comforting because I felt seen, knowing that someone out there feels what I feel.
Though some poems just passed through me, maybe because I didn’t see myself in them, they still haunted me. And that haunting presence is what I think makes this book more special—it reaches you in different ways, whether through recognition or through silence.
I felt intimidated before opening this book—just from the cover and blurb. I was both scared and intrigued when I realized it was about grief and loss. Then, when I encountered the violence within its pages, I was left speechless. Even though not everything is clear, the sadness and longing of the author can still be felt deeply. Some of the poems stabbed me like a knife—it cut me so deep. It hurt, yet it was comforting because I felt seen, knowing that someone out there feels what I feel.
Though some poems just passed through me, maybe because I didn’t see myself in them, they still haunted me. And that haunting presence is what I think makes this book more special—it reaches you in different ways, whether through recognition or through silence.
June 12, 2026
I picked this up because I wanted to read more Filipino poetry. I was pleasantly surprised. Although the book has some slight dips in quality towards the second half of the book, there are quite a few gems here, especially those towards the front. Highly recommend.
July 6, 2026
Wow...just wow. I was supposed to devour this slowly but each poem left me wanting more.
I kept trying to stop myself but this book had a tight grip on me.
I kept trying to stop myself but this book had a tight grip on me.
July 17, 2026
an emotionally charged book that leaves you quiet for a bit, unable to fully express how the book made you feel overall. unease? heartbreak? hope? i think mine's best described by the author herself when she wrote:
"I say poetry is successful when you are left with a feeling you can't seem to place—that after you read it, it should feel like a sigh of air had been sucked out of you."
there is so much depth in this small book.
"I say poetry is successful when you are left with a feeling you can't seem to place—that after you read it, it should feel like a sigh of air had been sucked out of you."
there is so much depth in this small book.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews