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aralakh'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
3.75
Graphic: Drug abuse and War
Moderate: Homophobia
leoniesliberi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
Minor: Animal death
kaitisbooknook'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
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
valerie'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, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, and Xenophobia
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
a_alves00'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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and War
natalie_davies'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
3.25
As a piece of literature it hangs together really well, it's just not always to my taste. There were universal ideas peppered throughout that tied me to the narrative; I loved the about language and art for instance, as well as the intrinsic theme of family, but the explicit nature of some scenes left me a bit cold... I'm not 100% why that is though.
It could be because of my own relative disinterest in sex scenes in literature, or because seeing certain anatomical words rubbing up amongst the rest of Vuong's eloquent and graceful language felt wrong. Either way I found myself losing track of the things I cared about in the middle portion of the book, which is mainly concerned with sexual discovery with a fellow immigrant and Tabacco picker, Trevor. It picked up again after this section, once the letters had become splinters rather than whole paragraphs, but it never quite thrilled me as it did in the first 30 pages.
Quick-ish note... Feel free to stop reading, I just need to ramble.
Is it because Vuong is very much subverting expectations of masculinity, having the courage to express his vulnerability, while Kaur is a of feminine expectations to ONLY dwell in these realms?
I'm not suggesting that the argument is this surface level, but it's a thought I had.... Maybe ignore this bit 🤷
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Excrement, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
esme_t's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
Graphic: Drug abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and War
moonchildjuli'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
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and War
graciexpratt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and War