Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

251 reviews

jayg's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Death, Homophobia, Alcohol, Drug use, Excrement, Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Drug abuse, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

revolverreads's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

5.0

There is very rarely a book picked by our Russian Roulette wheel that gets its claws into us from the first page and has us tearing up by the second. Part prose, part poetry, part cry-your-eyes-out, "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read, and it totally shattered us.

You begin by wondering what it is that Little Dog wants to tell his mother in this letter. Is it to let her know that despite the abuse and tumultuous childhood, he understands her? That he understands his mother is human and has lived a life full of horrors he could never imagine? Is that understanding now more painful, knowing that he has and will continue to live in a world where different horrors await him? It's a letter filled with pain, a generational hurt that has passed its way down from grandmother to mother to son, but it's also brimming with love. Amidst the pages of hurt, there is healing. For every negative memory and experience endured, there is hope and love. Despite the deep-rooted trauma, Little Dog, his mother, and Lan do what they can to shield each other in whatever ways they know.

Like many of the queer stories we have read on the Podcast so far, this narrative takes you on flashes through the timeline of their life so far. From childhood, to adolescence, to the present, Ocean Vuong manages to bring to life a full set of characters and their lifetimes, not a story that seems out of place or redundant. There is a fine line to toe when telling a traumatic story in a limited page count, but this book managed to pack a punch with each page. Complicated topics of abuse, trauma of war, self identity, and mental health are not mentioned flippantly, in fact just a line on a page manages to carry its underlying message across the memories being recounted. 

One Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous will have your attention from the first page, all the way until the end. It’s a book we’re positive won’t be out of our minds anytime soon. We’d love for you to join us as we get into much more detail on our podcast. Check us out at Revolver Reads: A Bookclub Russian Roulette on your podcast platform of choice, or simply @revolverreads on Instagram and let us know what you think. If you’d like to email us any future book suggestions for our roulette wheel, feel free to send them to [email protected].

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Bullying, and Homophobia

Moderate: Child abuse

violetbentbackwards1036's review

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Addiction, Hate crime, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Gore, Abandonment, Abortion, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, War, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Racism, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

baccoamon's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Ocean Vuong will be remembered as one of the masters of language and lyric. This is more of a portrait of a soul than it is a traditional novel. Vuong's beautiful and precise perspectives create a theater of the mind in a way that will leave the reader feeling every emotion as if it were their own. This book is not for readers who are not a fan of poetic prose. Vuong leans into his strengths but it can run a bit tedious for the readers who are not familiar or a fan of his poems. A masterful work that doesn't shy away from the complicated nature of culture, identity, immigration, self discovery, and queerness. 

This read is stark and moving but it could be too rattling for some readers. Read trigger warnings and know that the gruesome details do lead to a catharsis of sorts within the over arching ideas expressed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, War, Addiction, Xenophobia, and Mental illness

marena02's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-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: Death, Drug abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Deportation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Vomit, Child abuse, Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Addiction, Medical content, Physical abuse, Animal death, Bullying, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Violence, Death of parent, and War

mel_muses's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.5

A beautiful novel full of nuance, grief, love, and ultimately self. This book is so vivid that I actually had to look up whether this was a memoir or novel. I may not have grasped everything, but I'm glad I read it and have this story to think back on. I know it'll stick with me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, War, Physical abuse, Addiction, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Bullying, Excrement, Homophobia, and Terminal illness

earthsigil's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Abortion, Drug abuse, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Racism, War, and Homophobia

Minor: Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Transphobia

thesoftestcowboy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Xenophobia, Death, Grief, Drug abuse, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Racism, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Cancer, and Animal death

Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Bullying, Misogyny, Mental illness, Sexism, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Drug use, and Addiction

notapollosdaphne's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Grief, Racism, Bullying, and Dementia

Moderate: Racism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Addiction

shayh's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Homophobia, War, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Cancer, Bullying, Abortion, Addiction, Death, Drug use, Animal cruelty, and Car accident