There is something in Nina Mingya Powles’ writing that soothes me. That was the case for Tiny Moons, a collection of essays which focused on finding one’s identoty through food, as well as for Small Bodies of Water. This time, Powles focuses on water, literally (there is a lot about swimming, especially out in nature) and well as metaphorically. She explores further the themes of searching for one’s identity, travel, connecting the two different cultural background of her parents’.
She seeks to identify the things that connect her with her relatives. Nature is often the answer: such as kōwhai trees that grow in New Zealand, yòuzi pomelos that are eaten in summer in China, or the Kinabalu volcano on Borneo island. Just as often, art is the answer: Powles writes about Eileen Chang’s Half a Lifelong Romance , her Chinese language studies, as well as Maori poetry. Her ability to seamlessly move from subject to subject and to join seemingly disjointed thoughts truly compels me.
It’s a book to be read slowly, one that asks for breaks to look up the mentioned places online, to read the poems, to read about the people the author mentions, from which she weaves a tale of self-definition. It’s the perfect book to read when we seek a refuge from the overwhelming reality.
