Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

47 reviews

hannibanani29's review

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, and Death

Moderate: Abortion, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Racism, Grief, Cancer, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, Excrement, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Drug abuse

Minor: Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Alcohol, Classism, and Cursing

strawberrysheepie's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

So so so beautiful!!! Includes heavy topics so read with caution. Vuong’s writing is just so gorgeous and I can’t wait to read some more. This is definitely a book I’ll reread, and if you like poetry you’ll like this. One of my fave lines: ‘let no one mistake us for the fruit of violence - but that violence, having passed through the fruit, failed to spoil it.’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual content, Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Gun violence, Animal death, Death, Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use

yolie's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

This book needs you to take your time. Although the novel appears slim it is quite dense in terms of the content and Vuong’s prose. Some chapters read more like short stories and long form poetry than a linear account. The book has moments of absolute hopelessness, you’re shattered by Little Dog’s accounts of growing up an Asian immigrant in America, gay and poor. His one-sided and ill-fated relationship with Trevor makes me cautious (and sad) to say he is Little Dog's 'first love'. So much of their relationship is marred by Trevor's homophobia and recklessness. 

I wish less time was spent on that relationship and more weight was given to the other significant relationships in his life and the milestones he achieves in his adulthood. 

But there’s beauty in it too - a nod to the book’s title. Vuong/ Little Dog is able to hold so much compassion for people, he chooses to see them in their gorgeousness - irrespective of the brevity of that moment.  Long after the novel is over you’ll keep coming back to certain phrases, marvelling at how stunning and lyrical Vuong’s writing is.

One of my favourite passages from the book reads:
“Because the sunset, like survival, exists only on the verge of its own disappearing. To be gorgeous, you must first be seen, but to be seen allows you to be hunted.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, War, Colonisation, Death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, and Homophobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Car accident, Vomit, Abortion, Cursing, and Violence

Minor: Biphobia, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Violence, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual content, War, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Self harm, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Genocide, Cancer, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

flamesocks's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Xenophobia, Blood, Cancer, Car accident, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gun violence, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Violence

ivana's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-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? Yes

5.0

I immediately want to reread this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Physical abuse, War, Violence, Car accident, Drug use, and Drug abuse

blueberryhotel's review

emotional reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

gorgeous gorgeous book. it felt like reading a novel-length poem, which i loved. i think i could spend years picking apart each sentence and passage and weaving together all the meanings and symbolism and still not cover everything. so unique and captivating and heartbreaking - this book made me cry and i rarely cry while reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Addiction, Drug abuse, War, Abortion, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Racism

Minor: Car accident, Excrement, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Cancer, and Medical trauma

radfordmanor's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Grief, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Infidelity, War, Vomit, Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Violence, Alcoholism, Child death, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma

josie9's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.75

Absolutely speechless, Vuong’s writing is truely ingenious, authentic and so freaking devastating 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, War, and Bullying

erikalv97's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is beautifully written, the story is enthralling, I could hardly put the book down. 

I loved the writer’s style, the constant change of tenses, narration and the really thorough descriptions. 

The story itself is hard hitting, I cried several times (please check the cw!!!!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Cancer, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, War, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Mental illness, Racism, Physical abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Excrement