Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

17 reviews

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

hannahnadeshda's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War

maxthebeetlesheep's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

A stunning book that i knew i would rate 5 stars from the very first chapter. absolutely captivating and such an important read. if i could only choose one book to read this year, it would be this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy

vickymarieee's review against another edition

This was trauma porn. It opened up trauma for me I didn’t know I had. Needs a trigger warning.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

naddl0r's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

montyalmoro's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

novella42's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-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

5.0

I can still hear Vuong's gentle, relentless voice when I read quotes or pages from the hardcopy I finally picked up. Sometimes I read a little to remind the writer part of my brain how lyrical words work, and what kind of writer I want to be.

His author-read audiobook performance of this powerful book was nothing short of magnificent. 

A queer Vietnamese American man writes a letter to his mother, a survivor of the Vietnam War, who cannot read. His love for her, and hers for him, is ferocious and beautiful beyond words. Vuong is a poet, but strangely, I find his novel more compelling than his poetry. Tons of content warnings, to the degree I don't know when I will ever feel mentally resilient enough in my own C-PTSD to re-read it in its entirety, but if you're in the mood for a good cry, I can't think of anything more cathartic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, 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, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Fatphobia, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War

mjones14's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.25

I did really enjoy this book, but I believe it is more of a writer's book than a reader's book. In every way possible, this is what aspire to write like, but as a result it is not the easiest to read. 

I'm in love with the story. There wasn't a moment that I didn't feel sad in some type of way. Whilst it isn't a crying type of sad, it was enough to make me nostalgic for my own heritage and choices.

All in all, I'm confused by my reaction to this book, but I know its something special. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Genocide, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

lexipassno's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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

4.5

heartbreaking

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Dementia, Grief, Abortion, and Alcohol

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I don’t really read poetry but I have now put Vuong’s works on hold at the library. The writing of this is incredibly lyrical almost dreamlike (or nightmare?). 
I also don’t annotate books but I want a physical copy of this book to annotate because there are so many wonderful lines and quotes and more

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment