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lucyfette's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.75
and the story itself is rich with diverse representation and intricate details of storytelling. talking about the vietnamese war and how insanely impactful it was upon our characters and thousands of real people too. how the whole narrative itself is heartbreaking, because the main speaker is writing a letter to his mother, who cannot read. he’s pouring his heart out and sharing his life to somebody who will never be able to read it. we have asian-american lgbt representation too, and the impact of holding that identity has as well. everything is so .. incredibly handled and discussed im actually in awe.
the characters are all so different and unique and can be visualised so easily. the main narrator of the book, little dog, is extremely insightful and breaks the world into little pieces to be able to discuss it. i wouldn’t say little dog necessarily does anything spectacular or creates a massive event or anything like that, but you can’t help but be so intrigued in what he has to say and the way he views the world. the love, the hate, the admiration he has for everything that’s ever happened in his life or anyone he is close to lives.
i experienced incredible heart ache for all the people in this book, i was captured by the story and truly cared about everyone. this book is one everyone has to read, i adore books that sit in the metaphorical, poetry like category and this is definitely one of them. i cant wait to see what else ocean vuong writes, because this was an absolutely spectacular debut novel.
tldr: READ THIS BOOK YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT !!!!
Graphic: Gore
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
hannahlouise_'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
hannibanani29's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
Minor: Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
sarahrosea'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? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, War, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Transphobia and Murder
hayleydunn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, and War
bites_of_books'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? It's complicated
3.5
Little Dog is a young man who is writing a letter to his mother, telling her about many aspects of his life that he'd never told her before. We learn about his family's story in Vietnam as well as what happened as he grew up in the US. This is all told in snippets that jump back and forth between memories, almost like a structured and poetic stream of consciousness. While it was beautiful it was also violent and raw and simply overwhelming at times.
I so wish that the structure of the novel had been a bit more linear, adding that to the poetic writing made it quite difficult to fully appreciate everything that was going on in the novel. If anything, I think this is one novel that I'll get a lot more out of upon re-reading it.
I'd recommend it but definitely check the trigger warnings before reading, be patient, take your time, and keep an open mind for a novel that is blurring the lines between novel and poetry.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Genocide, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Vomit, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
lexlibris's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Genocide
Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, and Racial slurs
ethab'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Blood and Vomit
Minor: Cancer
graceanna'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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, and War
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Car accident, and Abortion
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol