What do you think?
Rate this book
This Way to the Sugar
A Midwest Asian-American poet beautifully captures the queer American experience. This bruising collection of poems puts a blade and a microscope to nostalgia, tradition, race, apology, and sexuality, in order to find beauty in a flawed world. His work has been described as an astounding testament to the power and necessity of confession.
75 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2014
29 people are currently reading
2445 people want to read
About the author
Hieu Minh Nguyen
14 books127 followersMeet Hieu Minh Nguyen, a young individual with a deep fascination for the mystical and mysterious world of occultism. Growing up in a family that had a connection to the occult, Hieu started delving into the arts of Zi Wei Dou Shu and Feng Shui at the tender age of 19. As the years passed, at the age of 22, Hieu's exploration expanded to embrace other aspects of the occult realm, including the law of attraction, ho'oponopono, advanced meditation techniques, past life regression, and more.
An extraordinary turning point occurred in 2022 when the author came to realize that the heart of all occult knowledge didn't solely rest within a single discipline. Instead, it encompassed the entire world – both scientific and mystical – with the human mind at its core. This revelation sparked a transformative change in the way Hieu approached the mystical and metaphysical world.
An extraordinary turning point occurred in 2022 when the author came to realize that the heart of all occult knowledge didn't solely rest within a single discipline. Instead, it encompassed the entire world – both scientific and mystical – with the human mind at its core. This revelation sparked a transformative change in the way Hieu approached the mystical and metaphysical world.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
Read
July 4, 2015My curiosity about Hieu Minh Nguyen's poetry was initially piqued by the fact that, like me, he is a Vietnamese-American poet who hails from the Twin Cities. This Way to the Sugar, published by Write Bloody Press earlier this year, is spoken word artist Nguyen's first poetry collection. (I should mention that this is the first spoken word poetry book I've read. I still have qualms about the implications of reading spoken word poems in printed book form.)
This book's themes include gay Asian-American identity, fleeting sexual encounters facilitated by the internet, body image issues (mostly having to do with fat/weight), lingering trauma from a long-repressed child molestation experience, what it's like to grow up in public housing in a poverty-affected neighborhood, and the complicated relationship between a man and the culturally conservative single mother who "took...eight years/to accept [him] for being gay":
"I know I should be grateful
that she came around at all. That she forgave me.
I’ve been told that it’s not her fault. It is how she was
raised..." (from "Stubborn Inheritance" -- you must watch the linked video, by the way)
Nguyen's use of language reminds me of the first time I listened to Stravinsky: how my muscles scrunched up involuntarily at the sound of those chords that seemed so harsh, so discordant! When Nguyen likens the homicidal act of a neighbor who "tossed her newborn twins/off the Wabasha Street Bridge" to "confetti [being shot] from a cannon," I closed the book for a moment, straining my brain to try to understand how those two things being compared could at all be considered similar (consider the physics of it, the trajectories, etc.). It was like hearing two notes being played on a piano simultaneously, a half-tone away from being exactly an octave apart. The metaphor's apparent imprecision made me uneasy. But that seems to be what Nguyen wants: to make you uneasy. As he explains in the poem "Flight," his aim is to show you a vision of the world that is "not like the movies at all." In the movies, suicide is portrayed as a clean, simple act; in real life, it's not: "You lose teeth."
Aside from the very relatable "Stubborn Inheritance," my favorite poem in this collection was "The Dock," in which Nguyen rhapsodizes on a series of hotel room encounters that do not seem to ameliorate either participant's loneliness:
"I am a fan
of the mass-produced hotel art,
the same photo hanging above each bed
makes it easier to pretend each new room
is still our room..."
In the same poem, Nguyen goes on to say, "I am no expert, or exorcist,/or great love. I am just another boy sitting//an arm's length away..." Nguyen may not be an expert or exorcist, but he is a poet, and one with a unique perspective that's worth hearing.
This book's themes include gay Asian-American identity, fleeting sexual encounters facilitated by the internet, body image issues (mostly having to do with fat/weight), lingering trauma from a long-repressed child molestation experience, what it's like to grow up in public housing in a poverty-affected neighborhood, and the complicated relationship between a man and the culturally conservative single mother who "took...eight years/to accept [him] for being gay":
"I know I should be grateful
that she came around at all. That she forgave me.
I’ve been told that it’s not her fault. It is how she was
raised..." (from "Stubborn Inheritance" -- you must watch the linked video, by the way)
Nguyen's use of language reminds me of the first time I listened to Stravinsky: how my muscles scrunched up involuntarily at the sound of those chords that seemed so harsh, so discordant! When Nguyen likens the homicidal act of a neighbor who "tossed her newborn twins/off the Wabasha Street Bridge" to "confetti [being shot] from a cannon," I closed the book for a moment, straining my brain to try to understand how those two things being compared could at all be considered similar (consider the physics of it, the trajectories, etc.). It was like hearing two notes being played on a piano simultaneously, a half-tone away from being exactly an octave apart. The metaphor's apparent imprecision made me uneasy. But that seems to be what Nguyen wants: to make you uneasy. As he explains in the poem "Flight," his aim is to show you a vision of the world that is "not like the movies at all." In the movies, suicide is portrayed as a clean, simple act; in real life, it's not: "You lose teeth."
Aside from the very relatable "Stubborn Inheritance," my favorite poem in this collection was "The Dock," in which Nguyen rhapsodizes on a series of hotel room encounters that do not seem to ameliorate either participant's loneliness:
"I am a fan
of the mass-produced hotel art,
the same photo hanging above each bed
makes it easier to pretend each new room
is still our room..."
In the same poem, Nguyen goes on to say, "I am no expert, or exorcist,/or great love. I am just another boy sitting//an arm's length away..." Nguyen may not be an expert or exorcist, but he is a poet, and one with a unique perspective that's worth hearing.
January 16, 2023
"Nostalgia forgets to visit this street.
It is too busy with tree houses and rope swings.
It doesn't have time for all this gray."
The synopsis states this to be a "bruising collection of poems" and I wold agree that this is the most apt way to describe them. Each and every inclusion was full of anguish and seeped with emotion. You could feel the hurt and the hatred emanating from the pages and it made this anthology an illuminating one, as it detailed and explored the complexities of queerness, race, and identity whilst growing up in America, but also an emotionally raw and hard-hitting one.
Some anthologies I can relate to and others educate me. This one definitely fell into the latter category as I had no similar experiences, to bond with the poet, but found this an elucidating reading experience.
It is too busy with tree houses and rope swings.
It doesn't have time for all this gray."
The synopsis states this to be a "bruising collection of poems" and I wold agree that this is the most apt way to describe them. Each and every inclusion was full of anguish and seeped with emotion. You could feel the hurt and the hatred emanating from the pages and it made this anthology an illuminating one, as it detailed and explored the complexities of queerness, race, and identity whilst growing up in America, but also an emotionally raw and hard-hitting one.
Some anthologies I can relate to and others educate me. This one definitely fell into the latter category as I had no similar experiences, to bond with the poet, but found this an elucidating reading experience.
August 30, 2021
HIEU MINH NGUYEN I AM YOUR BIGGEST FAN
“i remember listening to the other children’s voices
as their porch lights beckoned them home
for supper, ditching their mosquito halos by the tire swing,
how they sounded like children.
how they walked, and jumped, and sang like children.”
my latest favorite!! made me Feel so much, what a book.
“i remember listening to the other children’s voices
as their porch lights beckoned them home
for supper, ditching their mosquito halos by the tire swing,
how they sounded like children.
how they walked, and jumped, and sang like children.”
my latest favorite!! made me Feel so much, what a book.
March 29, 2020
5/5
I don't know if it's the quarantine and I am starting to like poems more or it's just the poem itself but this is easily one of the best books of poetry I've ever read.
Gorgeously scaffolded and executed, heart wrenching and humorous, it takes you from rot-gut to the balustrades. It's a sincere gift to the written word and to the imagination. Real talk, do yourself a favor and spend your sandwich money on this book and change your life.
I don't know if it's the quarantine and I am starting to like poems more or it's just the poem itself but this is easily one of the best books of poetry I've ever read.
Gorgeously scaffolded and executed, heart wrenching and humorous, it takes you from rot-gut to the balustrades. It's a sincere gift to the written word and to the imagination. Real talk, do yourself a favor and spend your sandwich money on this book and change your life.
March 4, 2016
I cannot recall if my favourite of his poems was in this collection, but it is on Button Poetry, it is called Southbound, and I highly recommend for everyone to check it out.
This is a collection, mostly targeting, the queer experience in America, which is something I am not familiar with, but there are many other triggering materials, such as molestation, sexual repression, and parent's acceptance of child's sexuality, so beware of those before delving into his poetry.
This is the kind of slam poetry that I like to read rather than having performed, one that I prefer to be listening classical music to. Heartbreaking would be a word I would use to describe his poems, that is all I can say.
This is a collection, mostly targeting, the queer experience in America, which is something I am not familiar with, but there are many other triggering materials, such as molestation, sexual repression, and parent's acceptance of child's sexuality, so beware of those before delving into his poetry.
This is the kind of slam poetry that I like to read rather than having performed, one that I prefer to be listening classical music to. Heartbreaking would be a word I would use to describe his poems, that is all I can say.
January 25, 2019
I need to get my thoughts together but this was heartwrenching
December 3, 2022
provocative, queer, funny, sad, horrifying, engaging
May 29, 2021
Flight and Stubborn Inheritance are the poems that will forever be the embodiment of everything I love about poetry. I’ll remember them till my body at last, hits the ground. Having read six poetry collection this year, This Way To The Sugar is the second to get five stars from me (the first being Tell Me: Poems by Kim Addonizio).
January 1, 2018
Hieu Nguyen here is emotionally vulnerable in a way few poets dare to be. Vulnerability is rare and wondrous, but what makes this collection all the more special is Nguyen’s exploration of past traumas; one feels privy to the author’s process of self discovery. For this reader, the book’s central fault is a lack of tonal variance, but that fault is small compared to the power of the manuscript as a whole.
October 3, 2021
actual rating: ★★★★½
gorgeous, emotional, and highly personal poetry. the vulnerability really jumps off the page. themes throughout of queer existence, being the child of a single vietnamese-american immigrant mother, and childhood molestation. hieu minh nguyen's poetic voice is heart-wrenching, transportive, and witty all in turn. love love love
gorgeous, emotional, and highly personal poetry. the vulnerability really jumps off the page. themes throughout of queer existence, being the child of a single vietnamese-american immigrant mother, and childhood molestation. hieu minh nguyen's poetic voice is heart-wrenching, transportive, and witty all in turn. love love love
September 11, 2019
Some of these were incredibly hard to read and brutally personal, but f—-, they’re amazing.
February 7, 2019
This collection focuses primarily on Nguyen's experiences as both a gay man and also as the survivor of childhood molestation, and how those elements intersect with one another. There are also some stunning pieces in here on race and family. Overall the collection paints a deeply personal and revealing portrait of the author, formed from a place of raw honesty. It is a beautiful confessional. I had only intended to read a few poems at a time, but I ended up reading the entire collection in one sitting. Compelling, with a strong emotional core, the language Nguyen sculpts is interesting, fresh, and lyrical. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
July 1, 2018
IF YOU LIKED THIS COLLECTION, READ OCEAN VUONG. HE'S MUCH BETTER.
The poems were poignant and at times very touching...but you forget them a few minutes later. In spite of the fact that this writer is clearly talented in the field of language, the imagery he creates just isn't palpable enough to stick in your mind. If you enjoyed the subject matter covered in this collection then read Ocean Vuong, he covers the same type of stuff (he too is gay and Vietnamese) but he does it so much fucking better. Way, way, better.
The poems were poignant and at times very touching...but you forget them a few minutes later. In spite of the fact that this writer is clearly talented in the field of language, the imagery he creates just isn't palpable enough to stick in your mind. If you enjoyed the subject matter covered in this collection then read Ocean Vuong, he covers the same type of stuff (he too is gay and Vietnamese) but he does it so much fucking better. Way, way, better.
November 18, 2018
Startling imagery and a recursive trajectory--these poems circle and dodge then dive fully into the water, into the gasoline, into memory and identity and tactile description in fresh and surprising ways. A poet I will be following.
January 14, 2018
I adore this collection of poems. Personal, confessional, tender, heart-rending, beautiful.
November 7, 2022
can u tell i figured out how to use z library again
June 12, 2022
"The only thing that separated my house
from the mother of six who drowned
each one of her kids in the bathtub
was the neighborhood playground.
The entire street sat on their stoops
and watched the six body bags leak
from underneath that door.
When the woman at the end
of my block tossed her newborn twins
off the Wabasha Street Bridge
on the 4th of July like confetti
from a cannon, all of the children
started locking their bedroom doors.
Scared of toxic food and a sickness
that we all assumed contagious.
Every time my mother drew a bath,
I assumed it was for me."
// McDonough Homes
I read and loved Nguyen's second collection of poetry, Not Here, last year and I wanted to read more of his work immediately. I am quite glad I finally got around to reading his debut, charting some of the same themes further elaborated in the follow-up. In "The Dock, Nguyen says "I am no expert, or exorcist, / or great love. I am just another boy sitting / an arm's length away from someone he doesn't recognize / in the light." In "Choke": "Perhaps my body would make more sense / if you cut it open. A door that swings at the throat." The body is locked in queer longing.
Desire prefaces many poems. Its illicit feel and appeal, its trucking around with non-fulfillment and sorrow, its fast turn towards the predatory. There's a series of poems that unearths the trauma of being molested by a teacher as a child: "Her clean fist wipes / the gloss from her chin and a small boy / stuck to the back of her hand." Lots of poems look at troubling encounters with older men: "I am only here to please, to moisturize / his palms, to spit-shine the screen." The slowed queer tolerance: "I've been told that it's not her fault it is how she was / raised." It is a stunning collection!
from the mother of six who drowned
each one of her kids in the bathtub
was the neighborhood playground.
The entire street sat on their stoops
and watched the six body bags leak
from underneath that door.
When the woman at the end
of my block tossed her newborn twins
off the Wabasha Street Bridge
on the 4th of July like confetti
from a cannon, all of the children
started locking their bedroom doors.
Scared of toxic food and a sickness
that we all assumed contagious.
Every time my mother drew a bath,
I assumed it was for me."
// McDonough Homes
I read and loved Nguyen's second collection of poetry, Not Here, last year and I wanted to read more of his work immediately. I am quite glad I finally got around to reading his debut, charting some of the same themes further elaborated in the follow-up. In "The Dock, Nguyen says "I am no expert, or exorcist, / or great love. I am just another boy sitting / an arm's length away from someone he doesn't recognize / in the light." In "Choke": "Perhaps my body would make more sense / if you cut it open. A door that swings at the throat." The body is locked in queer longing.
Desire prefaces many poems. Its illicit feel and appeal, its trucking around with non-fulfillment and sorrow, its fast turn towards the predatory. There's a series of poems that unearths the trauma of being molested by a teacher as a child: "Her clean fist wipes / the gloss from her chin and a small boy / stuck to the back of her hand." Lots of poems look at troubling encounters with older men: "I am only here to please, to moisturize / his palms, to spit-shine the screen." The slowed queer tolerance: "I've been told that it's not her fault it is how she was / raised." It is a stunning collection!
May 9, 2021
It is actually 4.5 ⭐
Wow, I completely love this, it was really personal, and I was surprised about how the writer can make you feel his words. He reflected so many topics like regret, racial problems being in another country, sexuality, family experiences and more. This might be different in comparison with others poetry books I have read, but I enjoyed the journey. I wanted to read it slow, but it just kept getting better that I read it like in two hours. I loved how honest and open he was in this.
I gave it 4. 5⭐ because maybe in some parts I wasn't that much comfortable with the writing in some topics, but besides that it was a good job.
Wow, I completely love this, it was really personal, and I was surprised about how the writer can make you feel his words. He reflected so many topics like regret, racial problems being in another country, sexuality, family experiences and more. This might be different in comparison with others poetry books I have read, but I enjoyed the journey. I wanted to read it slow, but it just kept getting better that I read it like in two hours. I loved how honest and open he was in this.
I gave it 4. 5⭐ because maybe in some parts I wasn't that much comfortable with the writing in some topics, but besides that it was a good job.
October 9, 2021
I didn't get it at the start, but this is a wonderful, cold, beautifully written collection of growing up and sexuality and the immigrant experience (Vietnamese-American in his case). There's a series that describes child sexual abuse in here (Teacher's Pet) and it was absolutely harrowing. Nguyen is amazing at recollection and the best poems made great use of it. I'll be looking out for his future works.
May 9, 2021
"I have built myself a safer body, covered the rot with rot" 4.5
This book was absolutely beautiful the writing of this Author is so astonishing it was amazing and absolutely mind-blowing the only thing that doesnt make me give it 5.0 is that it was too short if it was a little bit longer it would be really awesome i think the poems was at the same time shallow and deep i needed more.
This book was absolutely beautiful the writing of this Author is so astonishing it was amazing and absolutely mind-blowing the only thing that doesnt make me give it 5.0 is that it was too short if it was a little bit longer it would be really awesome i think the poems was at the same time shallow and deep i needed more.
Read
August 21, 2023i don’t know if i’m the correct person to be giving star ratings to poetry unless it’s a clear 5 stars because i’m pretty inexperienced in the genre. what i can say, is that i really loved a lot of these poems and think this author conveyed really dark things that are difficult to talk and read about in a really digestible and beautiful style. i enjoyed it
July 3, 2017
Loved "In the End"!
July 9, 2023
Laughs laughs laughs, brutal brutal brutal.
February 23, 2025
fav poems:
-Buffet Etiqueete
- Teacher's Pet (the first and second one)
- The Ocean, Maybe
- Choke
- Dry
- Stubborn Inheritence
- The Story
- Finally, The Son Talks About Woman
-Buffet Etiqueete
- Teacher's Pet (the first and second one)
- The Ocean, Maybe
- Choke
- Dry
- Stubborn Inheritence
- The Story
- Finally, The Son Talks About Woman
May 26, 2025
Hieu is one of my favourite poets alongside Victoria chang. Want to carry his poetry with me always.
February 25, 2023
It was kinda just the same 8 poems packaged in a few different ways. Repeated imagery, a lot of re-used themes. It was beautiful, but very redundant.
September 4, 2022
breathtaking!!!
June 24, 2021
i cant recall if ive ever encountered bad poetry. clearly some poems were meant to be read, performed more than others. in the theater of the mind these poems come to life all the same. they jumbled my own feelings about falling in love and being other to my own family.
March 14, 2017
Powerful poems exposing the author's most vulnerable points. Nguyen succeeds in portraying his sexual experiences with strangers as wholly intimate but also deeply sad and a fact of queer male life. Still mulling over the ways that he so successfully made something so beautiful, close, and so sad. Can't wait to read more from this author.
April 26, 2021
ni sé que decir. todo este libro fue muy raro y me sentí bastante incómoda. no sé si es que se me dificulta leer este tipo de temas o soy muy estupida para entenderlo pero no fue una buena experiencia. sorry.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews