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srhi96'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, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Dementia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Pregnancy
luciovalencia'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, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
masucolmusings'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and War
airsosweet'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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Excrement
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Minor: Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, and War
wardenred'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? Yes
4.75
Sometimes being offered tenderness feels like the very proof that you’ve been ruined.
To be honest, I find it really, really hard to think of this book as a novel. It read more like a collection of essays with the occasional poem thrown in, or perhaps a memoir. In some ways, it felt like reading a journal.
I'm in awe of Ocean Vuong's raw, poetic prose; multiple parts of the book hit me really hard, especially everything related to the generational trauma of war hanging over the family, and also the author's thoughts about writing and language. I did feel like everyone but the narrator wasn't so much a character as the narrator's impression/memory/reflection of a person, an attempt to understand them from the outside. As for plot, it's... very definitely not the focus. There's a coming-of-age narrative, absolutely, but it really reads a lot like "this is something that happened, and I'm having thoughts and feelings about it, and here they are"; a collection of losses and gains and reflections upon them. Which is not bad in any way! The book is really, really good! Just... not what I usually envision when I think of novels. Then again, maybe it's just that I don't read that much literary fiction?
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and War
queenharold'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Abortion
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, and Homophobia
stardustdreamer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence, Car accident, Abortion, and War
Minor: Vomit
kay_ne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content warnings may not include all that is in the book and tags shown may be in both graphic or moderate as I didn't keep track.
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Racism, and War
Minor: Cancer
josi1911's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Grief, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Blood
amurata2'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
4.75
Moderate: Homophobia and War
Minor: Racism