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The Curious Thing: Poems
In this gorgeous third collection, Sandra Lim investigates desire, sexuality, and dream with sinewy intelligence and a startling freshness. Truthful, sensuous, and intellectually relentless, the poems in The Curious Thing are compelling meditations on love, art making, solitude, female fate, and both the mundane and serious principles of life. Sandra Lim’s poetry displays stinging wit and a tough-minded approach to her own experiences: She speaks with Jean Rhys about beauty, encounters the dark loneliness that can exist inside a relationship, and discovers a coiled anger on a hot summer day. An extended poem sequence slyly revolves the meanings of finding oneself astray in midlife. A steely strength courses through the volume’s myriad discoveries―Lim’s lucidity and tenderness form a striking complement to her remarkable metaphors and the emotional clamor of her material. Animated by a sense of reckoning and a piercing inwardness, these anti-sentimental poems nevertheless celebrate the passionate and empathetic subjective life.
- GenresPoetryLiterary Fiction
72 pages, Hardcover
Published September 14, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
December 12, 2025
I did not personally resonate with all of these poems, but they are objectively very good. (Who are we to argue with Louise Glück? is really how this goes.) Lim has an expert hand at enjambment: consider “. . . What was more terrifying than / being abandoned? . . .” and “. . . the grieving joy of words / set down right. The cold bores her, / oppresses her. Life // comes to bore her. She can strip / a thing down. I want / beauty, she adds. Hear me?” (from “Jean Rhys”). Her images could cut with how in-focus they are, describing the “gaiety of the heart” after pain as “a stone / flung from a volcano” (from “The Protagonists”). I kept being startled—or shaken—by her word choice and where she chose to redirect even the smallest sample of narrative. She has clearly mastered an understanding of “the turn” in poetic work. Everywhere, she subverts expectations, and that’s one of the most underrated beauties of curiosity.
December 2, 2021
I can't say this about a majority of contemporary poetry, but I did truly *enjoy* this collection. Lim is sharp and quick, and I appreciated her ambivalence about her role as a single, childless woman. Some of the poems felt less complete or narratively clear, but there were still many surprising moments that I felt compelled to underline. Imagine if Louise Gluck were less embittered and had a better sense of humor -- you might end up with this book.
July 1, 2025
i’m struck by how similar this is to my thesis/one of my manuscripts
very effective intertexuality (explicit mentions of other authors, but the poems also talk to themselves). the manuscript itself feels well-organized.
in direct convo with jean rhys, spinoza, flaubert, etc
love “the immoralists,” “boston,” obviously) “pastoral,” this line in “portrait in summer”: “summertime: parole for academics,” “spinoza says,” “san francisco,” “a walk around the park,” and “the mountaintop”
i did wonder about line breaks - esp while reading certain poems aloud. there were moments where my breath guided me elsewhere, different breaks than what was recorded on the page but may just be my ear…
lots of ars poetica happening, anxieties about aging/life milestones. grounded in place/s, references to romantic/sexual relationship that dissolves.
kind of re-reading and annotating now
very effective intertexuality (explicit mentions of other authors, but the poems also talk to themselves). the manuscript itself feels well-organized.
in direct convo with jean rhys, spinoza, flaubert, etc
love “the immoralists,” “boston,” obviously) “pastoral,” this line in “portrait in summer”: “summertime: parole for academics,” “spinoza says,” “san francisco,” “a walk around the park,” and “the mountaintop”
i did wonder about line breaks - esp while reading certain poems aloud. there were moments where my breath guided me elsewhere, different breaks than what was recorded on the page but may just be my ear…
lots of ars poetica happening, anxieties about aging/life milestones. grounded in place/s, references to romantic/sexual relationship that dissolves.
kind of re-reading and annotating now
August 28, 2023
i should grow thinner, more of less of me, as i grow more solitary
November 5, 2024
thank u naomi for the birthday present :') fitting goddamn
July 26, 2022
HAPPINESS
In the dream, I got up early
And went out to shoot a rabbit, because
There was no meat for Sunday.
It was too cold, horses and birds were frozen solid.
Nevertheless, the landscape pleased the purist in me.
I put on skates to go out on the gray pond.
All the while, a low fever clung to me; it was
As acrid as piss, as sweetish.
So I knew I still wanted to be loved.
I had no reflection there, but then who could be
Reflected in ice? I cried in my bed.
Yet, no mistaking it, it was my season,
I prospered. I made endless figure-eights
In a strange night exhilaration. My appetite was good.
In the dream, I got up early
And went out to shoot a rabbit, because
There was no meat for Sunday.
It was too cold, horses and birds were frozen solid.
Nevertheless, the landscape pleased the purist in me.
I put on skates to go out on the gray pond.
All the while, a low fever clung to me; it was
As acrid as piss, as sweetish.
So I knew I still wanted to be loved.
I had no reflection there, but then who could be
Reflected in ice? I cried in my bed.
Yet, no mistaking it, it was my season,
I prospered. I made endless figure-eights
In a strange night exhilaration. My appetite was good.
May 16, 2022
Such a subtly powerful voice, a real treat for those of us that are curious about the curious aspects of our lives. I could read this again and again.
Poems of Note:
All of them, but -
Something Means Everything
Poems of Note:
All of them, but -
Something Means Everything
May 24, 2023
When it comes to my experience with most poetry, poems fall into two categories: some poems are wonderful; evocative, with a stunning use of language. They move you, or make you think. Other poems are awful; clunky and meaningless. In my experience with this book, none of the poems here fit into either of these categories. They were the epitome of average; poems that had a decent use of language, but not overly creative, and that neither inspired, nor repelled. I honestly can't say that I liked any of the poems in this book, and I honestly can't say that I disliked any of them either. I read each one carefully, thought about it, and moved on without much feeling. Every poem had a certain legitimacy, but each one kept me at a cold distance. Many of the poems seemed to shift topics at awkward points, even mid thought, and they had this odd dichotomy wherein the language was accessible but the meanings of the poems were not. If there was a poem here I liked, it was The Absolutist, but it stood out only because it created certain associations for me. On the whole, I didn't dislike this collection, but I'm sure I won't remember any of it either.
Read
December 23, 2022As in the poems in The Curious Thing titled “Pastoral,” one of which describes “Drinks on a sunny patio” and the fate of a bird who lives inside the house, the poems in this book make clear the dubious division between the interior mind, the external body, and the greater-than-human world. Sandra Lim’s poems use images from the natural world as metaphors for the human mind, the hungry body, but they never co-opt the independent energy of the mountain, lake, stag, or rose with which her vision aligns. As in a lucid dream where nothing and everything is real, Lim writes a world that is both magically metaphorical and fundamentally true.
Review published originally with Orion Magazine: https://orionmagazine.org/2022/03/17-...
Review published originally with Orion Magazine: https://orionmagazine.org/2022/03/17-...
February 24, 2022
It took me a minute to warm up to this collection but as soon as I hit "Naxos" I was struck and decided to re-read everything before moving on.
From Jean Rhys:
"Jean Rhys is saying/If I could jump out of the window/one bang and I'd be out of it.
It isn't done/ to admit to this kind/ of need,/
but spirit needs a house,/and the brief pageant of being/escorted through/
the grieving joy of words/set down right...."
Man oh man what a set of stanzas! By the time I hit A Shaggy Dog Story (another favorite) I was very engaged and ready to pour over this to look for some technique behind Lim's magic. Spoiler: there's a lot to find.
From Jean Rhys:
"Jean Rhys is saying/If I could jump out of the window/one bang and I'd be out of it.
It isn't done/ to admit to this kind/ of need,/
but spirit needs a house,/and the brief pageant of being/escorted through/
the grieving joy of words/set down right...."
Man oh man what a set of stanzas! By the time I hit A Shaggy Dog Story (another favorite) I was very engaged and ready to pour over this to look for some technique behind Lim's magic. Spoiler: there's a lot to find.
September 10, 2025
"At one time, / I asked for everything"
Sandra Lim's collection, The Curious Thing, replays the record scratch of memory. As Lim reckons with life's ordinary, she simultaneously forgives life for being gratifying. This collection was written with humility, written with one's head bowing. The poems have so much grounding and room for movement. I am so glad I read this book in the final days of summer—it is a book meant for this fading weather.
"And when the world treats you well, / you sometimes come to believe / you are deserving of it."
Sandra Lim's collection, The Curious Thing, replays the record scratch of memory. As Lim reckons with life's ordinary, she simultaneously forgives life for being gratifying. This collection was written with humility, written with one's head bowing. The poems have so much grounding and room for movement. I am so glad I read this book in the final days of summer—it is a book meant for this fading weather.
"And when the world treats you well, / you sometimes come to believe / you are deserving of it."
October 6, 2024
“Even the self you take to be so real
falls away while you labor,
and the only stones left are the ones in your throat,
forgone things you have to get down fast
or else you’ll choke. At last, you don’t even know
what you feel for yourself.
The mountaintop: you can keep your books
and your music there. What’s bad in one story
is good in another. Something has made you brave.
There is more to life than writing.”
// “The Mountaintop”
falls away while you labor,
and the only stones left are the ones in your throat,
forgone things you have to get down fast
or else you’ll choke. At last, you don’t even know
what you feel for yourself.
The mountaintop: you can keep your books
and your music there. What’s bad in one story
is good in another. Something has made you brave.
There is more to life than writing.”
// “The Mountaintop”
January 26, 2023
A quick but powerful read from Sandra Lim. This one gets 3.5 stars!
These poems play with female desire, isolation, and the many tests of time. Sandra expertly examines her own art as she lays it out before you. The Curious Thing takes a sharp, introspective look at what happens to a body stranded in the cold—the reverence and resilience that overtake.
These poems play with female desire, isolation, and the many tests of time. Sandra expertly examines her own art as she lays it out before you. The Curious Thing takes a sharp, introspective look at what happens to a body stranded in the cold—the reverence and resilience that overtake.
December 26, 2024
Keenly introspective, delicate yet smashing, Lim’s voice left me in marvel. There’s a grounded quality to her writing.
Loneliness. Womanhood and what it means to be a writer are themes I enjoy very much, all of which she touched on with wit and clarity.
Standouts are: ‘Bent Lyre’, ‘Spinoza Says’, & ‘The Mountaintop’
March 30, 2025
It’s been a while since I found a poetry collection with a writing style I truly enjoy, but this one definitely hits the mark! The Curious Thing is elegant, introspective, and quietly intense, and it strikes just the right balance between the everyday and the philosophical. I was moved by the intellect and self-reflection displayed in these poems. I’ll definitely be reading more of Sandra Lim in the future!
July 29, 2025
”And when the world treats you well,
you sometimes come to believe
you are deserving of it.”
I thought it was alright. The writing was nice, and pretty, and those are things I really like in books, so that’s the majority of my stars. The rest of it is the exploration of sexuality and femininity. I liked Sandra’s voice on her love and disappointment in men (i can definitely relate), and it wasn’t too bad to read.
But the problem was that I just felt bored by it. I wasn’t having much fun reading this, and I don’t know why. Some of the poems just didn’t work for me, and I found myself staring outside the window instead of reading, or daydreaming about some other thing despite my eyes physically looking at the page. I know it’s not because of attention span (see The Survivor Wants to Die at the End for proof) or because I don’t like poetry (i do, check out Apsara in New York for proof of that). And I hate to disappoint, but I can’t place what it is about this book that I can’t bring myself to enjoy. I’m sorry. Maybe this book isn’t for me. It had its moments, but this would probably be better for someone else.
Someone who’s not me.
you sometimes come to believe
you are deserving of it.”
I thought it was alright. The writing was nice, and pretty, and those are things I really like in books, so that’s the majority of my stars. The rest of it is the exploration of sexuality and femininity. I liked Sandra’s voice on her love and disappointment in men (i can definitely relate), and it wasn’t too bad to read.
But the problem was that I just felt bored by it. I wasn’t having much fun reading this, and I don’t know why. Some of the poems just didn’t work for me, and I found myself staring outside the window instead of reading, or daydreaming about some other thing despite my eyes physically looking at the page. I know it’s not because of attention span (see The Survivor Wants to Die at the End for proof) or because I don’t like poetry (i do, check out Apsara in New York for proof of that). And I hate to disappoint, but I can’t place what it is about this book that I can’t bring myself to enjoy. I’m sorry. Maybe this book isn’t for me. It had its moments, but this would probably be better for someone else.
Someone who’s not me.
October 10, 2021
One of my most anticipated books, and of course, it was exactly what I needed to read. Lim's poems continue in their stark discoveries and tone from The Wilderness, with an emphasis on how we, as humans, approach emotional clarity with each other.
January 17, 2022
Lim’s distinctive, no-nonsense voice presents the poet’s version of the world with irony, a wry sense of humor, and a ruminative, philosophical bent.
Favorite Poems:
“Something Means Everything”
“Theme and Variation”
“The Stronger”
“Naxos”
“Endings”
“Spinoza Says”
“A Shaggy Dog Story”
“April”
Favorite Poems:
“Something Means Everything”
“Theme and Variation”
“The Stronger”
“Naxos”
“Endings”
“Spinoza Says”
“A Shaggy Dog Story”
“April”
November 11, 2022
I liked the way she plays with language, and the overall sense of her meditation on middling.
Not enough media delves into the quiet middles of things, and the weird sense of displacement that sometimes arises out of not being where you were, but not quite being where you're going, either.
Not enough media delves into the quiet middles of things, and the weird sense of displacement that sometimes arises out of not being where you were, but not quite being where you're going, either.
May 9, 2023
These are poems I've returned to again and again, and each time I have a sense of astonishment about the unique and exquisite language Lim has found to express the profound and the banal experiences of life. Love this book.
July 9, 2023
Lim’s collection is a breathtaking sucker punch of beautifully devasting observations of love, lust, internal drive, and the silent spaces between. Insightful, introspective, and impossible to dismiss.
October 14, 2023
Wow! Incredible diction and rhythm, a very emotional read.
"...by longing. These rank weeds spring up
beside a curious sense
of sequel. I remember it sharply now: a little
time ago, wishing I had something
new, and the strain of it
nearly killing me. There was
no deeper meaning."
"...by longing. These rank weeds spring up
beside a curious sense
of sequel. I remember it sharply now: a little
time ago, wishing I had something
new, and the strain of it
nearly killing me. There was
no deeper meaning."
November 13, 2021
love love love this
February 6, 2022
Masterful! So cutting, witty, edited to perfection.
May 10, 2022
not a fan of poetry
September 21, 2022
One of twelve finalists for the Massachusetts Center for the Book’s 2022 Poetry Prize. No spoilers until the prize is announced in October 2022!
December 4, 2022
eh. Eh!
January 13, 2023
Humiliation, what of it? Formerly, I had a few feathers around my mouth, but nothing in my head.
August 2, 2023
Just a really lovely collection—4.5 stars
December 4, 2023
excellent collection. generated a whole bunch of poems in me. no honorable mention because it's late and i'm tired, but rest assured there are many worthy poems.
Copy obtained via Libby
Copy obtained via Libby
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews