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ixris's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Devastating. As in I felt like I was destroyed several times while reading this.
Buckle in for trauma.
Fantastic and beautiful and painful and horrible all at once.
I will never rec this book to anyone bc wow it's not for the faint of heart. But it was for me and I look forward to rereading in the future.
Buckle in for trauma.
Fantastic and beautiful and painful and horrible all at once.
I will never rec this book to anyone bc wow it's not for the faint of heart. But it was for me and I look forward to rereading in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, and War
leonora_isabella's review against another edition
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Violence
pigeonsarecool's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Deportation
Minor: Cancer
niallgoulding1's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.5
This is a hard book to describe. Wholly unique for better and worse.
The writing is beautiful. Every page has at least one sentence that will make you pause. It's an interesting contrast to see such beautiful prose applied to such unremittingly grim subject matter.
There isn't a plot as such. We get snippets of the grandma doing whatever she needed to do to survive the Vietnam war. Then we glimpse moments of post-war struggle before a move to the US, which turns out to be less promised land and more a different form of hell. Very effective in describing "left behind" America. You see a society where life seems to have lost all joy and been reduced to a grind to survive. Poverty, substance abuse and trauma mingle; passing from generation to generation. But all of this is delivered in a fragmented style. One minute you're in a trailer watching an American dad drink himself to death in the early 00s, then a sentence later you're in Vietnam at some point in time. Its definitely confusing and I'm not sure the novel benefits from this. An even slightly more structured approach would've helped a lot.
The writer is clearly trying to process a lot of contradictory feelings and lots of interesting ideas comes out of that. What to feel for a mother who loves him but whose own issues prevent her being a supportive presence. A country that has left his community to die on mass from opoids and always reminds him of his "otherness" but one which gave the son of poor immigrants the opportunity to become a renowned poet. A first love that is both touching and harmful - sabotaged by self-hatred and unforgiving circumstances.
Ultimately a novel about people's inability to communicate and process trauma. Not perfect but powerful.
"I'm sorry I keep saying - how are you? when I mean are you happy?"
"They will want you to succeed, but never more than them. They will write their names on your leash and call you necessary"
The writing is beautiful. Every page has at least one sentence that will make you pause. It's an interesting contrast to see such beautiful prose applied to such unremittingly grim subject matter.
There isn't a plot as such. We get snippets of the grandma doing whatever she needed to do to survive the Vietnam war. Then we glimpse moments of post-war struggle before a move to the US, which turns out to be less promised land and more a different form of hell. Very effective in describing "left behind" America. You see a society where life seems to have lost all joy and been reduced to a grind to survive. Poverty, substance abuse and trauma mingle; passing from generation to generation. But all of this is delivered in a fragmented style. One minute you're in a trailer watching an American dad drink himself to death in the early 00s, then a sentence later you're in Vietnam at some point in time. Its definitely confusing and I'm not sure the novel benefits from this. An even slightly more structured approach would've helped a lot.
The writer is clearly trying to process a lot of contradictory feelings and lots of interesting ideas comes out of that. What to feel for a mother who loves him but whose own issues prevent her being a supportive presence. A country that has left his community to die on mass from opoids and always reminds him of his "otherness" but one which gave the son of poor immigrants the opportunity to become a renowned poet. A first love that is both touching and harmful - sabotaged by self-hatred and unforgiving circumstances.
Ultimately a novel about people's inability to communicate and process trauma. Not perfect but powerful.
"I'm sorry I keep saying - how are you? when I mean are you happy?"
"They will want you to succeed, but never more than them. They will write their names on your leash and call you necessary"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Sexual content
embot77's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
The varied jumps back and forth in the timeline and juxtaposition of two or more stories in each chapter offer a complex and challenging narrative for readers. For most of the book, I was under the impression that this was a memoir given the first-person vulnerability. While, as a reader, I would probably not reread the book for fun, I would go through the passages again as a poet, interested in reflecting on the introspective passages and rhetorical questions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse
figz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tbh not my type of book - super wordy, not heaps of a plot, quite graphic. I think it touched on some important subjects I just didn’t enjoy reading his writing style :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Racism, Violence, and War
dan_tee's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Writing this almost immediately after finishing and I'm struggling to put into words my feelings.
Part fiction, part autobiography, this epistolary novel presses a weight upon something deep inside me.
The prose is beautiful all throughout, as are the poems. In parts it's like reading a song, the author singing and baring their soul.
It's heartwrenching and beautiful.
This book is not written for me; a boring, straight white British man in his 30s. But that's not to say I didn't get something from it. Vuong exposes parts of him which rarely touch light, and in doing so illuminates memories and evokes feelings lost to me.
The areas which are foreign to me are made relatable by the carefully painted imagery he creates through the pages, and a direct manifestation of Little Dog, who glides between Ocean and the character, blending facsimile with truth so you're left feeling like you know both beings.
I'm sure people who can relate to the character more physically and culturally will get even more from this.
This novel is full of familial struggle, frustration, grief, poverty, death, and so, so much gentle but blinding love. The empathy Oceans writing displays towards everyone, alongside the open-hearted spotlight on Little Dogs struggles, acts as a pilot light throughout.
I need space and time to further process this. Like a stone thrown into the river, I'm sure time will dull some of the intensity this has left me with, but I hope the I continue to remember the weight of this, and how it sank me.
Part fiction, part autobiography, this epistolary novel presses a weight upon something deep inside me.
The prose is beautiful all throughout, as are the poems. In parts it's like reading a song, the author singing and baring their soul.
It's heartwrenching and beautiful.
This book is not written for me; a boring, straight white British man in his 30s. But that's not to say I didn't get something from it. Vuong exposes parts of him which rarely touch light, and in doing so illuminates memories and evokes feelings lost to me.
The areas which are foreign to me are made relatable by the carefully painted imagery he creates through the pages, and a direct manifestation of Little Dog, who glides between Ocean and the character, blending facsimile with truth so you're left feeling like you know both beings.
I'm sure people who can relate to the character more physically and culturally will get even more from this.
This novel is full of familial struggle, frustration, grief, poverty, death, and so, so much gentle but blinding love. The empathy Oceans writing displays towards everyone, alongside the open-hearted spotlight on Little Dogs struggles, acts as a pilot light throughout.
I need space and time to further process this. Like a stone thrown into the river, I'm sure time will dull some of the intensity this has left me with, but I hope the I continue to remember the weight of this, and how it sank me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Death of parent, and War
stephengiles's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
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? No
3.75
I was loving this book until about 70%. While I didn’t have a strong narrative thread and that was something I was enjoying it became a little too meandering and failed to stick landing. Overall I would strongly recommend it. It made me incredibly emotional and it’s unlike anything I’ve read before.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Xenophobia
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
astridrv's review against another edition
I am so curious about the author's poetry now. This was a mesmerizing, gorgeous book, born from the five senses, a detailed attention to the world, an ear to the heart and beyond. I did feel it had the pitfalls of its daring: a lack of structure despite a love for patterns, parts that didn't fly despite most of the prose soaring, an occasional cliché despite such fresh and vivid images, too many rhetorical questions and aphorisms when everything is already there. But I loved it.
"And like a word, I hold no weight in this world yet still carry my own life."
"And like a word, I hold no weight in this world yet still carry my own life."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Violence, Grief, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Alcohol
lucija0's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse
Moderate: Bullying