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barath_6023's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It's a letter from the protagonist, Little Dog, to his mother, but it's also a letter to everything that has lead up to who he is, who they are in the world.
The story of them and other different characters(Lan, Paul, etc.) , the events and countries they drift across lends well to the poetic and stream of consciousness style. However, I did find some parts of the book to get lost in metaphors and purple poetry.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, and Abortion
sing_to_me_paolo's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Terminal illness, Excrement, Abortion, and Colonisation
michaelapr's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
I was under the impression that this was nonfiction but it's actually fiction. I read it as more of a lyric essay with some parts prose, other parts poetry, and parts that still feel very true even after knowing some parts are fictional. All of these parts were connected through a process that seemed to appear on paper even when I know that the words only sound the way they do through a lot of editing.
This is essentially an exploration of identity, of an intense parent-child relationship, of the opioid epidemic through the eyes of someone who's friends keep dying, and of an ever present grief caused by trauma from wars of multiple varieties. Ocean Vuong does these explorations well by reflecting in a way that feels true.
The reason why this book falls just short of a 4 for me is hard to explain except it's probably mostly because of the end. The very end started to feel... looser to me than the rest of the book. The connections not as clear to me, the meaning of the table metaphor (was it a metaphor?) just out of reach, and the ending lines not clicking with me. This might've just been me - maybe if I read this again down the line I'd understand that part better. There were also parts of this that were hard to read. This isn't necessarily what made it not a 4 stars or above because these parts felt necessary, no matter how painful or cringe worthy. It's just worth noting to check triggers if you need to.
Overall this was a well written book that wants to make you think about important aspects of the American experience that many hate to acknowledge exists and Vuong succeeds in this mission.
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Body shaming and Emotional abuse
maiking's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and War
gnpunpun's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, and Dementia
cchoate45's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction and Drug abuse
Moderate: Death
m3greads's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, and Sexual content
that01loser's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, and Grief
tellatrix's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
𝐎𝐧 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬
Disclaimer: I’m unable to write reviews without including spoilers, so please read this expecting some.
“I miss you more than I remember you.”
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Outing, and War
melaeki's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content
Moderate: Racism, Terminal illness, Grief, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, Excrement, Car accident, and Abortion