Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

687 reviews

pzrlla's review against another edition

challenging 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, War, and Classism

gabbygolucky96's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This is the book I have found that most excellently encapsulates the complexities of generational trauma, abuse, queer identity, and the messiness of it all. This is a book that I will definitely need to reread over the years because it is impossible to take it all in on the first read. This book is powerful.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and War

jessicasanderson's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use and Sexual content

barath_6023's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A beautiful book that I can only describe as "intensely personal", which I found was a work of fiction after many pages in! 

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

This is beautiful and I understand why it's so beloved by so many. I just struggle with a book that has so little plot momentum.

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Content Warnings

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

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

3.75

This was a beautifully written book that was heartbreaking in some moments, hard to read in others, and poignant throughout.
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.

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Content Warnings

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

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

tellatrix's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-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

𝐎𝐧 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬

𝙾𝚌𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚅𝚞𝚘𝚗𝚐

Disclaimer: I’m unable to write reviews without including spoilers, so please read this expecting some.

This is a book I know I’ll need to reread at least two more times to fully grasp all the layers of meaning and messages the author is trying to convey. While I understood the main plot, the metaphors, poetry, and deeper themes often felt elusive. The connections between scenes and ideas required careful attention, and sometimes I got lost in the beautiful, yet intricate, web of words.

Maybe after reading more books, learning new words, or gaining more life experience, I’ll be able to fully understand what Ocean Vuong was trying to say. Right now, I can’t. If someone asked me what this book was about, I don’t think I could give a clear, straightforward answer.

If I said this book was about a Vietnamese family carrying the violence and trauma of war within them—something that shaped them, tormented them, and yet also made them beautiful—would that make sense? Probably not, and even if it did, it wouldn’t come close to capturing the complexity of the story.

This is a book you have to experience for yourself. Even then, you might not find all the answers on your first read—just like me. But I know I’ll revisit it. Each time, I hope to uncover new layers, new words to explain what this book means.

For me, though, this book wasn’t as sad as some might say. I found it more hopeful. Others may disagree, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of hope running through it. Hope for what? I’m not sure. Maybe it wasn’t hope tied to action or outcomes—just hope as a feeling, a quiet presence.

I’ll end this review with a quote that stayed with me the most from my reading: 

 “I miss you more than I remember you.” 

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Content Warnings

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

kylebr0's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautiful written prose, dark yet intimate. This novel will break and mend your heart at the same time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Mental illness

melaeki's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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