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acacia_happy_hour's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and War
chaosbumblebee's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, 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, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
n7n0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Violence, Abortion, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, and Car accident
kimbeentjes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol
mishsofil's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I’m not a literature student at all but if i was, i swear i would be highlighting and analysing every single sentence. Every line is so beautiful and packed with meaning, its almost hard to wrap your head around it.
Graphic: Drug abuse and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, and Death
Minor: Homophobia, Xenophobia, and War
vaykay'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
clovetra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, and War
jenna0818'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
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Grief, and War
nsfburke's review against another edition
Graphic: Homophobia
Minor: Violence
e_r_q'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
5.0
"because tenderness depends on how little the world touches you. To stay tender, the weight of your life cannot lean on your bones."
What Ocean Vuong has achieved here is insane.
The way he interweaves complex symbolism, through the dreamy non-linear structure and his hypnotically poetic writing, is just phenomenal. And it all comes together with that moving culmination at the end, where he poignantly ties the various animal symbols together.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a gut-wrenching and melancholic meditation on immigration, the Asian-American experience, the American dream, war, trauma, grief, addiction, family and sexuality. But most essentially, it's a book about belonging: Little Dog feels irrevocably estranged from Vietnam, from America and even his own family (on account of his mother's abusive behaviour).
It's magnificent. I wish I could write something like this.
"I was a gaping wound in the middle of America and you were inside me asking, Where are we? Where are we, baby?"
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Grief
Minor: Sexual assault and Toxic relationship