Reviews tagging 'Gore'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

45 reviews

bashsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book is DENSE. I had to really turn my brain on to read it, which was not a bad thing, but it did make me take much longer to read it than I expected. Like in his poetry, Vuong's descriptions are vibrant and original. My favorite aspect of his writing is I can see exactly what he is describing, even though his manner of description is unique. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, Vomit, and Abandonment

Uses of slurs against LGBTQ+ folks

montyalmoro's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

cobwebshelves's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, and Excrement

Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

killeenm's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-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

2.0

I wanted to like this book but I really didn’t. The first part was the best in my opinion, and I did appreciate the book’s exploration of war, immigration, parents, and queerness. Overall, I didn’t understand the sometimes overly metaphoric tangents, even though I wanted to understand what they were getting at, I didn’t. They didn’t flow well with the rest of the book and seemed like an author’s attempt to work in certain points without actually having to tie it into the story. As the book went on, graphic descriptions turned gruesome and torturous to read. I’m not one to shy away from reality or portrayals of it, but it was too much for me at times, and most of the time it didn’t seem to add to the point of the book. It was obviously written by a talented poet, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

raelong12's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, and Classism

shaanll's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, and War

novella42's review

challenging 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? Yes

5.0

I can still hear Vuong's gentle, relentless voice when I read quotes or pages from the hardcopy I finally picked up. Sometimes I read a little to remind the writer part of my brain how lyrical words work, and what kind of writer I want to be.

His author-read audiobook performance of this powerful book was nothing short of magnificent. 

A queer Vietnamese American man writes a letter to his mother, a survivor of the Vietnam War, who cannot read. His love for her, and hers for him, is ferocious and beautiful beyond words. Vuong is a poet, but strangely, I find his novel more compelling than his poetry. Tons of content warnings, to the degree I don't know when I will ever feel mentally resilient enough in my own C-PTSD to re-read it in its entirety, but if you're in the mood for a good cry, I can't think of anything more cathartic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Fatphobia, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War

philippmk's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed the complicated relationship between the protagonist and his mother and the deep love that exists despite their issues. A very introspective story about how shared trauma can hurt you, but also bring you closer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, and War

lucille_c's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Medical content, Car accident, and Abortion

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

little_lichen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, and Xenophobia