Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

181 reviews

everesto's review

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. It was written so so beautifully and made me feel so many emotions. Vuong uses such descriptive language you can really see what is going on and understand well what is happening and what he was feeling. I don't think I'll ever stop thinking about this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Racism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, and War

golden_hanne's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: Addiction and Abortion

Minor: Cancer

ewillreadit's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Racism, Hate crime, Grief, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Cancer, Addiction, and War

mdavis26's review

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Racism, Car accident, Mental illness, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Grief, Terminal illness, War, Sexual content, Death, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

kjofalltrades's review

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Cancer

Moderate: Gun violence, Xenophobia, Homophobia, and War

Minor: Vomit and Excrement

ienbdri's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Addiction, Grief, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Cursing, Animal death, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Excrement, Drug use, War, Abortion, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Death, Cancer, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Mental illness

lindcherry's review against another edition

challenging reflective 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: War

jesslhaigh's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, War, and Drug abuse

alinabkl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Drug abuse, Abortion, Gun violence, Racism, War, Bullying, Drug use, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, Grief, Mental illness, and Colonisation

chrisljm's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Ocean Vuong writes so beautifully and so poetically. I felt I was able to enjoy this book because I saw it less as a novel and more as a poetic memoir in the form of vignettes, which he uses to narrate his experiences growing up as a child in the United States as a Vietnamese immigrant post-Vietnam war to a parent with PTSD. Vuong's writing is so vividly melancholic and haunting, and these feelings follow even during the soft vulnerability of his childhood and youth. There's so much introspection but also a stillness as if no matter how far time and space takes you, you will always be haunted by this current time, place, and feeling. 

I want to include one of my favorite quotes from the book: "I know you believe in reincarnation. I don’t know if I do but I hope it’s real. Because then maybe you’ll come back here next time around. Maybe you’ll be a girl and maybe your name will be Rose again, and you’ll have a room full of books with parents who will read you bedtime stories in a country not touched by war. Maybe then, in that life and in this future, you’ll find this book and you’ll know what happened to us. And you’ll remember me. Maybe." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, War, Homophobia, Abortion, Drug use, Bullying, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail