Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ocean vuong you’ve done it again
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've been seeing around that people have saying this belongs in our modern literary canon, and I agree.
The author knows how to paint a picture and shows an "everyday life" story without it being boring. I experienced a range of emotions that left my on the verge of tears at the end.
The author knows how to paint a picture and shows an "everyday life" story without it being boring. I experienced a range of emotions that left my on the verge of tears at the end.
emotional
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
To me, Ocean Vuong is one of the greatest American writers of the twenty-first century, exploring family dynamics, diaspora, queerness, aging, and drug addiction. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is an instant classic to me and this is another fantastic novel that feels like you just can't put it down.
Starting off with Hai's attempted suicide and immediate connection to Grazinia, Vuong begins with an emotional bang a cast of characters that are fully themselves and feel so realistic its impossible not to care for them and want the best for them. Hai is complicated, caring for Grazinia and stealing from her. She herself is equally as complicated, as we are never sure where she truly is mentally.
Its hard to explain this book without having read it, so I'll just say go read it. Many don't like the earnestness of Vuong's work, but to me it's something greatly missing in much of today's fiction.
Starting off with Hai's attempted suicide and immediate connection to Grazinia, Vuong begins with an emotional bang a cast of characters that are fully themselves and feel so realistic its impossible not to care for them and want the best for them. Hai is complicated, caring for Grazinia and stealing from her. She herself is equally as complicated, as we are never sure where she truly is mentally.
Its hard to explain this book without having read it, so I'll just say go read it. Many don't like the earnestness of Vuong's work, but to me it's something greatly missing in much of today's fiction.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I finished this book around ten minutes ago, and I still have the chills. Ocean Vuong has evolved beyond what we know as a normal human being, and risen to heights not many have achieved. And he's younger than I am!
I remember reading On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous when it came out and being instantly sucked into his world. I remember sitting in my office at work, undone tasks sitting in front of me, watching everyone else work, and caring about nothing but reading. I felt that just as intensely the entire time I was reading The Emperor of Gladness. The plot, the characters, the buildup, the sadness, the hopelessness, the drugs, and the lack of solutions to the pointlessness of it all are why I loved this book. A good writer writing a good book might be successful at one or two of these things, but Vuong knocks them all out of the park.
The story takes places in Connecticut in the late 2000s and early 2010s, in a suburb just outside of Hartford. Hai, the protagonist, is a sad kid. He's the son of an immigrant mother and a non-existent father who moved to the US to give him a better life. He feels that pressure and, despite being an intelligent and creative kid, cannot handle it and turns to drugs. The entire story is heartbreaking and familiar.
Hai's relationship with his mother really hit home as well. She wants him to do better than she has, which is totally normal, but to him is just too much pressure. He's constantly letting her down, is carrying around so much guilt I'm surprised he can even move, and expresses more anger towards her than she deserves.
Then there's Grazina, a super old woman suffering from dementia who comes into his life at the perfect time. The bond these two form is, like almost everything in this book, heartbreaking and healing at the same time. We get to travel so deep into this relationship, and more than anything else it really humanizes Hai. It shows us (and hopefully him) that he can be more, he can do more. That he isn't the piece of shit he thinks he is.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
oh my god ocean vuong. he said in an interview that writers need to love the world, and reading this book makes it abundantly clear what he meant. everything—the beautiful and the ugly—is portrayed with the love of an old friend.
on a separate and unexpected note, i expected to be depressed from beginning to end while reading this but i actually cackled out loud several times. so hilarious and sharp.
on a separate and unexpected note, i expected to be depressed from beginning to end while reading this but i actually cackled out loud several times. so hilarious and sharp.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt