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Reviews tagging 'Death'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

797 reviews

clovetra's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

i really don’t know what to say about this book. i don’t think it is possible for me to convey my thoughts surrounding this book. it was breathtaking.
ocean vuong’s prose is unlike anything i’ve ever read before and is incredibly addictive. the form in which this book takes only adds to the brilliance of this story, and made me keep coming back for more.
the only “downside” in my eyes of this book is that the story’s nonlinear structure made it hard to follow at times, and the main character felt devoid of personality. it’s highly likely that those features are a metacommentary on the main character themself, but it doesn’t make me like the book any more when the reason behind choices are explained.
i quite enjoyed the characterisation of lan & rose, and seeing the effects of generational trauma was handled amazingly. i especially liked reading about lan and her relationship with little dog.
i don’t really think there’s more i know how to say. i have a lot of feelings about this book that are stuck in my head (question of the century: is it because the book is that good it’s rendered me speechless or is it because i’m on day 2 of cymbalta.. the world will never know). but this book is legendary, and deserves all the hype it has surrounding it.
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maria_mccoy's review

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emotional

4.0

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halloumaki's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.25

effectively disorienting and terrifyingly beautiful, this book will touch you. so many beautiful images and scenes that feel almost biblical in their omnipotence and truth they reveal. marks deducted because the disorientation was a bit too disorienting at points.
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hilary_h's review against another edition

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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

4.0

It was sad how much I could relate to parts of this book and the narrators life. Although it is relatively slow paced, this book contains some of the most beautiful writing I’ve ever layed my eyes onand got me leaving anotations on every other page. Just a heads up as I wasn’t warned of this before, but there’s a lot of sexual content, just something to keep in mind.
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e_r_q's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

"because tenderness depends on how little the world touches you. To stay tender, the weight of your life cannot lean on your bones."

What Ocean Vuong has achieved here is insane.
The way he interweaves complex symbolism, through the dreamy non-linear structure and his hypnotically poetic writing, is just phenomenal. And it all comes together with that moving culmination at the end, where he poignantly ties the various animal symbols together.

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a gut-wrenching and melancholic meditation on immigration, the Asian-American experience, the American dream, war, trauma, grief, addiction, family and sexuality. But most essentially, it's a book about belonging: Little Dog feels irrevocably estranged from Vietnam, from America and even his own family (on account of his mother's abusive behaviour).
It's magnificent. I wish I could write something like this.

"I was a gaping wound in the middle of America and you were inside me asking, Where are we? Where are we, baby?"
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cmwilliams29's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

I tore through this one. Rather astonishing—and a bit of a thinker. I don’t entirely know what I’ve just read and somehow it’s ok. It’s beautiful and thought-provoking and I will be sitting with it for a while.
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ebrooker0103's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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zoekyriacou's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.0

Really beautiful book and would highly recommend for poetry lovers in particular, unfortunately the poetic register is something I am not usually a fan of. So heartbreaking and thought provoking.
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booksinherhead's review against another edition

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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

4.5

An absolutely STUNNING debut. Written from a son to his mother, this novel charts a young queer man's childhood and adolesance, his relationship with his mother, and his relationship with himself. An extraordinary examination of the mother/son dynamic and the plight of Vietnamese immigrants in the early 2000s, this novel is absolutely not one to miss. It's such a short and delicate little book I finished it wanting MORE. Perfect for readers who enjoyed Barabara Kingslover's DEMON COPPERHEAD.
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dniespal's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Written exquisitely. Reads like poetry. 
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