Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

Sometimes books written in verse always trip me up but there are so many things about this book that just blew me away! I find that the trauma of the survivors of the Vietnam war is always told from the perspective of the Americans but telling the story from the perspective of the Vietnamese people of the generation post-Vietnam is so important because a lot of the people were born with different reactions to loud noises, specifically fireworks (thinking they’re bombs). The story of Trevor and Little Dog finding love in the tobacco fields because Trevor’s dad was Little Dog’s boss. This book is very heavy. One more thing, I loved the small moment where Little Dog is in Vietnam burying Lan’s ashes and he comes across a parade and it’s actually a way to lift people’s spirits up after the passing of someone in Their neighborhood. Using the art of Drag to bring some levity to the situation. This book is such a beautiful love letter to a parent

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jade_smith's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

This was a gorgeous novel. Perhaps the first time I’ve felt compelled to use the word “luminous” as an adjective. Ocean Vuong’s writing is breathtakingly beautiful. This is exactly the kind of so-called purple prose that I love — it straddles the line between prose and poetry so deftly.

Part exploration of inter-generational trauma, part coming of age, part meditation on memory and the past, this is a staggering story delivered in immaculate style.

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natafiguu's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring relaxing sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

such an amazing read. touches topics like masculinity, internalized and external homophobia, racism, death, it's just an amazing book and you should definitely read it.

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michaelapr's review against another edition

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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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hannahnadeshda's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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kelisabeth's review

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challenging emotional 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

4.25

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chaosbumblebee's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Such a beautiful book it makes me want to go back and lower my rating of everything else so that this is the only 5 star read I have this year--or ever. Heartbreaking, poignant, perfect and imperfect, Vuong puts words to feelings I didn't know words could be put to. I need to call my mom.

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