Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

98 reviews

komiification's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

4.0

I won't lie, but I tend to get easily distracted when listening to audio books, so there were points where I happened to tune out what was happening. That's entirely my own fault as I get used to reading in audio form, and not a fault of the book at all. I'm fact, this book is written like the most beautiful poetry, even when describing some of the most tragic and difficult events imaginable. It is not an easy book to get through, and I often thought about stopping because it really was just hard to listen to some of the things Little Dog and his family had to go through. But not all books should exist to be blatant consumer-centric entertainment, so I would urge people to pick this up, despite it not being an 'easy read'. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Alcohol

liljuliep's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Excrement, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

merryburnsreads_24's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

This was a difficult read. The writing is undeniable though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Blood, Abandonment, and War

nehaanna's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

This book rides the fine line between poetry and novel, book and art. Sometimes the line between abstract free form poetry is blurred, and the narrative runs together. But somehow the story is preserved. The premise of the book is to answer the question of a displaced Vietnamese woman - who am I? Where are we? However, the question is answered in snapshot for from the voice of her son, who writes to her in the form of letters. It is an impossible paradox - the mother does not speak or write English and did not learn enough of her native tongue to pass it down to her son. So the son, the first generation in America, is forced to converse in a foreign language. 

The journey the son, Little Dog goes through takes one through everything from domestic abuse, child abuse, bullying at school from other children, internalized misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, racism, drug use, and death. The definitions of family, lover, friend, and more are all reassessed, reframed, readdressed. This boy longs for recognition more than anything, searching for identity in the swath of the US ravaged by cycles of poverty, abuse, drug use, and drug crises. There is freedom in telling one’s story but also an act of taking, of possession, something not afforded often to everyone equally.

In all, this is a stunning debut novel that may read as too high brow, pretentious, vulgar, or debasing to some. But that is life, is it not? That is what storytelling allows us to do. While I definitely struggled at times when the story used abstract poetry or the narrative switched timelines, I still came away from this novel knowing more language to put to experiences. Which is the greatest gift this novel can give. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Homophobia, and Colonisation

smors101's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

Such an amazing look at the life of generational trauma triggered by war through the eyes of the youngest generation. His way with words are magical. His awards absolutely deserved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, War, and Classism

sapphicsquirrel's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, War, and Classism

martasshelf's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

I enjoyed this book a lot. I feel like it took me a little to get into it at the start, but it slowly grew on me and broke my heart in a million pieces, just like I like it.
Vuong delivers exactly what he promises at the start: this book is a letter and it's perfectly shaped as one. From the memories not always in cronological order and with different levels of depth to the contemplation and reflections made along the way. 
A beautiful love letter to a mother ho can't read, it reflects on family, war trauma, e/imigration and identity, homosexuality and homofobia, drugs, language and politics. 
It is beautifuly writen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Homophobia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Violence, and War

nerd_inthe_wild's review

emotional reflective 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Xenophobia

Minor: Child abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Terminal illness, Mass/school shootings, and War

gabbyolsen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Hauntingly beautiful writing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, 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