SMALL BODIES OF WATER

Author Nina Mingya Powles narrates her collection of essays about home, belonging, and migration with quiet reverence. She gives careful attention to each word, speaking with languid slowness. There's both curiosity and sadness in her voice. She writes beautifully about the places that have shaped her--Wellington, London, Malaysia, Shanghai. She ponders the memories, foods, cultures, languages, traditions, and losses that live inside her. She explores the work of her grandfather, a scientist who studied Borneo's freshwater fish; the plants she's grown on her London balcony; the pools, ponds, and oceans that have been meaningful throughout her life; her Chinese heritage; and so much more. Many of these pieces feel more like prose poems than essays, and Powles's flowing but precise narration highlights the beauty of her words. L.S. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2021]