I really wanted to like this collection more than I did, and I think it was mostly me not entirely enjoying Stoykova’s style (i.e., it’s more a me problem). In her poems, though, she reflects on being an immigrant from Eastern Europe and making sense of being a part of the United States. Many of her poems are written to the country in a conversational tone that almost gives the impression that she is speaking to a partner, shifting between feelings of gratitude and skepticism, trying to gauge how the other might respond. I quite liked the snail imagery that Stoykova provides through the cover illustration and in her poems, particularly this sense of carrying one’s home with you (and what a pleasant surprise to learn that “snail” and “love” sound alike in Bulgarian); it feels very apt for the immigrant identity.

I think another reason this collection may not have resonated as strongly as it could have was because while there is this focus on immigration and being an immigrant, Stoykova also discusses other topics that don’t quite fit with the rest of the collection (e.g., domestic violence), and I couldn’t quite pinpoint their purpose for being there.

Overall, there is a lot to think about in this collection, and I especially will be thinking a lot about her one poem that was written in Bulgarian and English to express what it feels like to immigrate somewhere (“Imagine a raw egg”).