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richelleski'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
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia and War
avery219'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
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia
nipsnpiss'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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
neri'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
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
Moderate: Drug abuse
mariverse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Please read this book.
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Homophobia
camiskye'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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, and War
Moderate: Death and Mental illness
beckyjc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
There are a lot of heavy themes here: surviving war and occupation, domestic violence, immigration and racism, homophobia, drug addiction, death, animal cruelty....I think this is the book for which I've listed the most content warnings on this site! Any book that contains such harrowing subject matter is always going to be tough going at times, and this is no exception. The sheer weight of the post-traumatic stress on show here can be very oppressive. And I don't think I've come across a scene that disgusted me as much as the monkey brain scene since 'The Wasp Factory'.
But Vuong does have a lyrical and reflective writing style that manages to lift the bleak and harsh reality that is depicted above the gratuitous and offensive. Some of the passages are stunning and I paused a few times to re-read a powerful sentence that grabbed me. There is the wry, jaded wisdom that is often found in the voices of writers who understand grief and extreme suffering only by experience. But there is also beauty too. Sometimes this feels a little jarring and the prose can get overly stylised. I discovered afterwards that Vuong is also a poet and that makes a lot of sense. I felt like he lost me a bit at times, and I became a bit unmoored, but he didn't remain in this register for too long. His complicated feelings for his mother and his burgeoning desire for Trevor are described in ways that can stray towards high-mindedness but stop before becoming too exclusionist.
My overall impression was to veer between feeling present and witness to the narrator's experiences, and untethered, unsure of the direction - which is quite fitting given the narrator's own turmoil and his expressed intention that he is writing in English to his mother who cannot read or speak the language. This can lend a detached feeling to the writing, as if presented in full knowledge that it will never reach its target readership. This can be both freeing and stifling.
An impressive piece of writing, and a good representation of the dark underbelly of the American Dream. Now for something a bit cheerier!
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Grief, and Abortion
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Car accident, and War
fought4dominance's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Miscarriage, and War
laurabarrett'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol
starlit_pathways's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Vomit, Medical content, and Abortion