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everesto's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Racism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, and War
aksmith92's review
- 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
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.
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.grace_madeleine's review
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, War, Grief, Drug use, Homophobia, Violence, Death, Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Bullying
anajailer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Violence
brookiet1220's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia and War
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse
kimisaboss123's review
- 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
Graphic: Addiction and Drug abuse
Moderate: Death, Grief, War, and Cancer
Minor: Homophobia, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Hate crime, and Gun violence
rachelfazio's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: War, Racism, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Death, Homophobia, Addiction, and Drug use
rumoursfromlnez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Child abuse
Moderate: Abortion, War, and Racism
Minor: Sexual content
jeddicat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism, War, Death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Drug use
idk_indigo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
That being said, I don't really think this is for me... it honestly felt a bit like trauma porn at times, which is probably an unfair thing of me to say because I understand that an entire facet of poetry is making tragedy beautiful (/s), but I found myself almost wanting to roll my eyes at times. Idk. Also, I know this is coming from the perspective of written correspondence, and that definitely changes how a person talks about themselves/their experiences/reality, but I genuinely just got very sick of the main character, Little Dog. And towards the end, the poetry-as-prose format got very old for me. There's not anything specifically wrong with it, per se, I just didn't like it. I think maybe it would've held up better if it was shorter, but I'm almost like there's a reason why poems are short.
I may read something else from the author, maybe some of his poetry, because the content of this book was super interesting to me. I think I would have liked this better had I been in a different mood, but I am not, so... 2 stars.
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, and Homophobia
Moderate: Addiction, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Death, and Drug abuse
Minor: Xenophobia, War, Racism, and Sexual assault