Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

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

195 reviews

theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-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

2.0

This book was difficult for me to get into and I felt dumb quite a few times for not being able to follow the writing style. I didn’t always understand what was happening, when, where, and with whom. I wonder if reading the physical copy would have been better for my brain. 

Little Dog’s narration jumps around through the years and generations of his family, sharing the hardships of their survival. Parts of the story are upsetting. Even though I am an emotional person I did not shed a single tear while listening to this book. Probably because I didn’t get into the story or characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Excrement, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Grief, Racism, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, and War

bookbunny00's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Addiction, Violence, Drug abuse, Animal death, and Domestic abuse

oneiricgarden's review against another edition

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

5.0

CHANGED MY LIFE 😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Gore, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Car accident, Racism, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Abandonment, Colonisation, and Alcohol

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

swifterel22's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

It's written so beautifully and talks about many important topics. 
This book moves you, shows you a horrible but very real in this world reality. The sentences were written so gorgeously that I couldn't help but highlight many of them and I felt like in some parts this novel read more like poetry.
I am so glad I finally got to reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Drug abuse, Drug use, and War

Moderate: War, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, Ableism, Physical abuse, Outing, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, Bullying, Racism, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Dementia, and Violence

Minor: Child abuse, Transphobia, Cancer, and Abortion

voidfavors's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Animal death, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Death

Moderate: Homophobia, Physical abuse, War, Violence, Addiction, Racial slurs, and Terminal illness

kalaser's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Dementia, Drug abuse, and Abortion

Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Homophobia

Minor: Sexual violence, Racism, Terminal illness, and War

srod910's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, War, Violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Racial slurs, and Terminal illness

emrosch's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Hauntingly beautiful & raw with emotion.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Cancer, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Grief, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Racism, Addiction, War, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Death, Abortion, and Mental illness

sxndaze's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Sexual content, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and War

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Vomit

aksmith92's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

The setup: 'On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous' is a unique novel, presented as a letter from a son to a mother who likely will never be able to read it due to her inability to read, especially in English. Our narrator, Little Dog, delves into his family's life - even before his birth - in Vietnam, during the infamous war there, and his own life, unearthing some traumas and revelations throughout his teenage years.

Much of the novel is about Little Dog's relationship with his mother, Rose, and her mother, Lan. There is an intricate discussion about their familial affairs and what it took the women to survive for Little Dog to be writing this letter. Then it's also a pseudo-love story about Little Dog and Trevor, a boy he works with on a tobacco farm during the summers. There is a little bit of grief, love, and hardship throughout this novel, and you can feel Ocean Vuong's poetic side coming out as he describes Little Dog's complicated life. Honestly, it's a story about nothing, yet about everything for someone like Little Dog. It intertwines addiction, violence, and a plethora of trauma into a novel that shares the story of a son and his mother.

What I loved: This book was a bit haunting AND lovely - somehow both, sometimes simultaneously (but not always). Vuong was a storyteller here. There were fantastic quotes and metaphors, and Vuong knew how to share philosophical thoughts and ideas. It was a sad story and one that encompasses survival. It takes a talented writer to make this type of art, and Vuong no doubt delivered a tremendous literary and contemporary fiction book. Honestly, at times, this felt SO real, to the point that it reminded me of a memoir (maybe that also had to do with a second person). Either way, you were submerged in On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous and felt all the feels.

What could have made it five stars: The common literary fiction conundrum - the intense effort to be overly profound. I felt this only initially, but Vuong seemed to try so hard. On page 4 or around there, one quote said something like, "We held nothing in our hands but our hands." And while I understood that it was likely that they were holding each other's hands, it just made me roll my eyes. 

My only other qualm was the structure. I know what Vuong was doing, and Vuong knew what Vuong was doing, as mentioned in the novel a couple of times in the letter - Little Dog knew his writing was a bit all over the place. However, it took a lot of work to immerse myself in the story because of the back-and-forth timelines, especially between paragraphs with no apparent cadence. Part II had more narrative style than the others; otherwise, linking story pieces took a lot of work. It made it hard to connect with the plot itself. 

Regardless, this book was undeniably moving, genuine, and wholehearted. The impactful pieces of the story, like the aftermath of war, an opioid crisis and addiction, and sexuality, were incredibly well done, and I think this book is an essential read. The structure makes it a bit challenging for a novel, but the storytelling is ultimately worth that brief confusion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Racial slurs, War, Physical abuse, Cancer, Child death, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Abortion, Pregnancy, Racism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Death, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Mental illness, Sexual content, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Grief, Violence, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Gaslighting, and Drug use

Moderate: Car accident and Classism

Minor: Misogyny, Transphobia, and Sexism

Rape is not discussed as a rape, but it is assumed.