Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Di Semesta Ini Kita Pernah Gemilang by Ocean Vuong

39 reviews

tetedump's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, Car accident, Abortion, and War

naddl0r's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

masucolmusings's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

this made me simultaneously hopeful about life and despair my existence

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and War

reemoony's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i used to be so pretentious when it came to giving books five stars. i thought they had to check this huge list of boxes, but they dont. if you enjoy a book, give it five stars. with that being said, i dont know if i enjoyed this book. it doesnt feel like a book you’re supposed to like, but you love it anyway. its gut-wrenching and hurtful and powerful and loving. it’s everything in the universe at once. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, and Toxic friendship

novella42's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can still hear Vuong's gentle, relentless voice when I read quotes or pages from the hardcopy I finally picked up. Sometimes I read a little to remind the writer part of my brain how lyrical words work, and what kind of writer I want to be.

His author-read audiobook performance of this powerful book was nothing short of magnificent. 

A queer Vietnamese American man writes a letter to his mother, a survivor of the Vietnam War, who cannot read. His love for her, and hers for him, is ferocious and beautiful beyond words. Vuong is a poet, but strangely, I find his novel more compelling than his poetry. Tons of content warnings, to the degree I don't know when I will ever feel mentally resilient enough in my own C-PTSD to re-read it in its entirety, but if you're in the mood for a good cry, I can't think of anything more cathartic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Fatphobia, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War

minnie_xx's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

really beautifully written. you can tell vuong is a poet. page 153-160 are really  special.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Physical abuse, Dementia, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol

mjones14's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.25

I did really enjoy this book, but I believe it is more of a writer's book than a reader's book. In every way possible, this is what aspire to write like, but as a result it is not the easiest to read. 

I'm in love with the story. There wasn't a moment that I didn't feel sad in some type of way. Whilst it isn't a crying type of sad, it was enough to make me nostalgic for my own heritage and choices.

All in all, I'm confused by my reaction to this book, but I know its something special. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Genocide, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

savvylit's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This novel is an incredibly beautiful and heartbreaking exploration of parental love, intergenerational trauma, burgeoning queer love, and the opioid crisis. The narrator, Little Dog, paints a deeply nuanced portrait of his life through the lens of his complicated mother-son relationship. By continuously recognizing his mother's own traumatic past, he's able to better comprehend her tendencies towards coldness and cruelty. Despite their difficulties, the love between Little Dog and his mother is obvious. At its heart, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a marvelous reminder that familial love is a complex spectrum.

More than the unforgettable content of the novel (I won't spoil it!), perhaps the best thing about this book is Ocean Vuong's overwhelming talent. Vuong's background as a poet is evident in each of his perfectly crafted, haunting sentences. Some of them were too wonderful not to share. See for yourself:

"I believe the wound is also the place where the skin reencounters itself, asking of each end, where have you been?"

"In a world myriad as ours, the gaze is a singular act: to look at something is to fill your whole life with it, if only briefly."

"You once told me that the human eye is god's loneliest creation. How so much of the world passes through the pupil and still it holds nothing. The eye, alone in its socket, doesn't even know there's another one, just like it, an inch away, just as hungry, as empty."

"Too much joy, I swear, is lost in our desperation to keep it."

"They say nothing lasts forever but they're just scared it will last longer than they can love it."

"Let no one mistake us for the fruit of violence - but that violence, having passed through the fruit, failed to spoil it."

"Because freedom, I am told, is nothing but the distance between the hunter and its prey."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, and War

hannahlouise_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

probably one of the best books i have ever read. i vigorously annotated every page, every word felt dripping with emotion and the weight of memory and remembering.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

tinyjude's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Cancer