Before We Are Ghosts

by Tan Lixin

How do we handle loss? Why do we resist and accept change? Before We Are Ghosts explores the inevitable in life, and as a sequel to Keeping Skeletons, gives closure to the latter and comes to a conclusion that we can only keep going in circles until we learn to embrace loss and change as they are.

Genres: Poetry

47 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2015

Reviews

[Andrada · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure how this collection of poems by Singaporean poet Tan Lixin wound up at a book exchange in Romania, but that’s where I found it. An exploration, above all, of grief and death, it failed to really make an impression on me. After recently reading Ocean Vuong’s raw and visceral work dealing with similar themes, Tan Lixin’s poems seemed far too subdued and banal. She’s not a bad poet, but I didn’t feel the thrill I usually experience when reading exceptional poetry.

[Mark Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first heard of the author from her first book, Keeping Skeletons, and was so captivated by her hauntingly beautiful and...real writing that I arrived at Before We Are Ghosts not before long. I can say with confidence that she is one of the utmost best writers in Singapore that I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

Before We Are Ghosts is an excellent book on not just poetry, but the journey of loss itself. The author Lixin has perfectly captured the calamity of going through loss through words; the emotions and thoughts that one would experience, which helps not just me but anyone going through any similar struggles. Lixin has not been able to achieve just that, but has been able to take me, the reader, through her own personal journey of loss. The content is not detached from the writer and vice versa, which makes the read just so much more meaningful and moving. Her writing however is not for the close-hearted and close-minded. If you are not a reader of true/good writing content, then her complex motifs and words will just be lost to you; a sad waste.

[Dayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book impacted me much deeper.
This sequel explores loss and death in an abstract manner that gravitates around heavy metaphors of Shadows, nature and decay, which I enjoyed. I liked the imagery that blossomed and took shape in my head. When I read this in one entire sitting I felt like I was in a boat, bobbing and swaying on the river passageway of death, towards the gates of the underworld. In which the passenger laments about her life and loss, and the more that there is to come.

[Melvin Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some books can be judged by their covers. Before We Are Ghosts is one. Water slipping through the fingers forebodes the wistful longing that will seep through the pages. Many poems stem from the tender relationship between the author and her father. You get the feeling she is drawing from wounds that time will never heal. This deceivingly slim collection drowns with a wrenching sense of loss. Proceed at your own risk!

[Fernando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quarantine book #1

A wonderful collection about how we handle loss of grandparents, of our memories, of our own personal ghosts...

It's impossible not to see ourselves in @lixin.tan 's words, a sign of great poetry. It speaks to us and allows us to live our own experiences through her words.

Edition by @booksactually 's #mathpaperpress

For more #SingLit go to #onebookSingapore
#onebookAsia

#QuarantineReading

[Patrick Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book... While being a tough statement to say, its even better than the last.

[Christina Hopp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book - a lot of strong poetry! My favorite poem was Perth. The ending line always hits with a punch in Lixin's writing, so I really liked that in particular.

[Joseph Solitare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very real. Congrats on the publication!

[Kumiko Mae LovingSunshine · Rating 4 out of 5]

while i always approach poetry to have stains of sex, this anthology dived into the deeper ruins left behind by death. it was a melancholic read that immensely satiated my need for some sort of preparedness in accepting loss

[Guan You · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry dealing with the topic of death has been written to death, but somehow a breath of life could be whiffed from these poems. The elegiac writing conveyed both weight and poignance to lend this collection suitable gravitas.

[Serene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could not relate deeply to most of the poems. Though I felt the writing was lyrical, none of them really stood out for me.