Peonies into Sambal: A collection of Poems & Poems

by Phedora, Nur Arissa Zulazman (Editor), Adlin Farhana binti Firdaus (Illustrator)

Peonies into Sambal is the second poetry collection by Phedora but the first to be debuted under her own name.

Phedora penned her journey as a Malaysian of Kadazan and Chinese descent navigating adulthood.

Her collection dives into the process of sambal-making by seeking to accept, process, and define the self through finding love, losing hearts, and self-exploration on what it means to find a home.

112 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

About the author

Phedora spent the first 11 years of her life in Labuan, Sabah. In 2008, her family relocated to Kuala Lumpur. She has since spent 12 years in the city and can safely be labeled as a city girl. Phedora majored in human resource management at the International University of Malaya-Wales (IUMW). Although she started writing at a young age, she only actively pursued writing at the age of 21.

Phedora has always wanted her debut as a writer to begin with a sci-fi novel, but life took her on a different turn and she fell in love with contemporary poetry instead. In June 2017, following the end of her long-term relationship, she started actively writing and sharing her poetry on her official page @phes.poetry on Instagram.

In December of 2017, Phedora self-published her first raw collection of poems (under the pen name Nori Ryoko) titled “#ShittyPoetry”. It is a collection of poetry that revolves around love, heartbreaks, and slice of life. Since publishing her first book, she began dabbling in the art of spoken word. After graduation, Phedora is now working full-time in a corporate environment. She hopes to someday fund the dreams she has always been passionate about and take the leap of faith to realize her goals.

Reviews

[sarahreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

the author uses her words so delicately to talk about a lot of important things with the comfort of Malaysian food being one of the most prominent part of the book 🤍 this all goes back to being in touch w your roots, embracing your culture, but sometimes finding it hard to "belong" still

its also about one's journey of moving on, acceptance and discovering yourself while you go through grief, loss, & life in general. i personally have went through this and i think i still am. time will certainly heal, you just never know when and its ok to admit that it sucks. i love how this collection makes us appreciate the small moments of our everyday life, like the food we usually eat, the things we do as a Malaysian that makes us one. the tone of this whole book just screams cozy & heartwarming but also very emotional

the author's debut collection called shitty poetry on the other hand was about opening up, expressing emotions, love and heartbreaks, pleasures in life, more of a sad tone, peace of mind/freedom. and i loved the growth shown in peonies into sambal <33

ive always felt like reading poetry is like reading someone's diary, and im glad i got the chance to read the author's emotions & experiences through her collection

[✨ sufina ✨ (thebadassreader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

❝ – #BookReview: Peonies into Sambal by Phedora

Firstly, let’s take a moment to adore this beautiful cover. It is so aesthetically pleasing, I had to stop reading many times just to adore the beauty 💖

Peonies into Sambal is the second book of Phedora, previously known as Nori Ryoko, her first book was called #ShittyPoetry.

What unique about this poetry book is that the author incorporated a lot of Malaysian food, dialect and culture in her pieces. It’s not your ordinary poetry book. It stayed true to the pop poetry genre.

As much as I enjoyed reading the book, unfortunately I couldn’t really connect with it. Most probably because there are quite a number of Chinese letters and words I don’t understand.

I would recommend this book to:
✨ poetry lovers who are always eager to read different poetry genres
✨ those who loves poetry that reads like a diary
✨ beginner to poetry reads

My rating: 3.5 ⭐

Thank you so much @phes.poetry for sending me your book in exchange for an honest review. This book is now available to be purchased on her Shopee. Link in her bio!

[Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

“This body is a sanctuary for the soul and I am trying hard to give it real love.”

Peonies into Sambal is a stunning collection of poetry on love, loss, life and growth. I was lucky enough to have received this from Phedora, the author herself.

It was such a beautiful collection of delicate words that I find myself relating to in some of the poems. That reminded me of the old days during primary and high school. The memories I made, the growth I had gone through to turn me into the person that I am right now. It’s simply beautiful. I love how locally interconnected it is with multiple cultures of the different races in Malaysia. There was this one poem about uncle putu mayam that made me miss the bells of uncle putu mayam at my house every evening. It felt like a nostalgic breathe of fresh air.

This is the kind of poetry that isn’t filled with much metaphors or complicated words. Everything was very understandable and relatable, it was a really smooth glide going through this one. The illustrations are STUNNING. Love love love the flower artworks throughout the book.

Reviewing a poetry book is kinda hard because each and every poem are different from each other and they have different meaning, different interpretations to different people. But if you’re in need of something mildly nostalgic, beautiful and whimsical, then this is it for you.

Thank you so much to Phedora for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely adore Peonies into Sambal and recommend you all to go pick this one up if you’re a fan of contemporary poetry or simply in need of something quick, new and yet have so much lessons and meaning.

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[ika · Rating 4 out of 5]

"For a world that's full of hearts, for a world that preaches to have heart, we're pretty heartless."

Peonies into Sambal is a collection of poetry on love, loss, life, acceptance, discovering yourself and life in general.

This book had made me appreciate the small moments in my everyday life and I find myself relating to some of the poems. What I love most about this book is how interconnected it is with the different cultures, races in Malaysia and our local food. The comfort of Malaysian food being the most prominent part of the book is definitely 💯 highly recommended for Malaysians (and non-Malaysians).

Another thing I love about this book is the important messages, especially about body image.

Everything about this book just screams heartwarming, nostalgic, cosy, emotional, and whimsical. The words in this book are delicate and easy to interpret. It doesn’t have many metaphors and complicated words. The writing is simple but I can still feel the author’s emotions pouring through every word.

Lastly, I adore the cover and the illustrations so so much. They are STUNNING 🤍

"Growing on different paths but intertwining like vines, still in search of our frames but we found homes in each other along the way."

[Introvert Insane · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of I don't know whether the title is a mistake or not but it feels like it. Second of all, these are definitely not POEMS but more like insta-poems. However, I still appreciate it for what it is. I love the title, the concept and the illustration. In face, the title "Peonies into Sambal" really rolls of the tongue well. Yet despite the language use, I can't help but feel that some of the poems feel a little too long; like a combination of different poems that are spliced together giving it an unnatural feel. I think with a little more edit, it could've been better.

[Charissa Ty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I see alot of potential in her work but the endings of her poems need more work. They're actually the most important part of the piece as it determines whether the piece is good or not. Gotta bring the idea Home yo~

She should be very proud of herself for pursuing this bravely! Keep it up, it's ok to progress a little everyday.

[Lyana A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this collection 💕

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike the first publication, this is a book filled with melancholic memories and reminiscent of the days before. the author had manage to grasp the sense of nostalgia that comes with remembering the past. I say that this is a book of poems for a women remembering the the girl she was, and the growth she found until now.
4/5 stars for me :3

[yasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘For a world that’s full of hearts,
for a world that preaches to have a heart,
we’re pretty heartless’

first off, i’d like to flex that i finished reading this one in about two days. its rare of me to do so 💫 now, lets go to the details ;

Peonies into sambal is becoming one of my favorite poetry collections ! yes, i rarely read poetry and usually it’s kinda hard for me to get immersed into the hidden meaning of the poems or the message it has to get deciphered. yet for this one, i felt like i understand the author’s intentions and i connect with the writing ever so easily. I can definitely see she puts her heart out writing these, i felt the emotions and feelings within the stanzas. There may not be a lot of powerful and deep words, but there are certainly a few of which i think is beautifully written 💕

another factor im completely in love with is how there’s mentions of foods in the poems. to desserts, drinks, local foods, everything. i love how the author talks about her journey battling with low self esteem, how this important message about body image is portrayed. 🍂

‘I don’t want self love to feel like i have to climb a mount everest
I want self love to be a positive and fun journey
For both me and i’

if you enjoy poetries that includes hints of foods, cultures and slice of life with important notes, add this one to your list of poetry tbr’s. In addition of the utmost simple yet stunning little illustrations, this book is simply heartwarming to read.

Rating : 4.5 / 5 ⭐️

huge gratitude to @phes.poetry , the author herself for gifting me this 💓thank you for the opportunity

[Charlotte (char.lottereads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐