Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

17 reviews

krystalgaia's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

This book took me a long time to finish because, on top of me being busy, Vuong's words seem to be multilayered. I couldn't get past a page without annotating almost every other sentence. I think that's because he's trained in writing poetry, so he took his time in finding the right words and metaphor and imagery to put on paper, and as a reader, it's my job to strip it off until all that's left is its meaning, its core.

I enjoyed the writing style: a mix of essayistic, prosaic, and poetic. Very introspective, which is right up my alley. The way the whole story is a letter and is structured in vignettes made me feel like I was following Vuong's natural stream of consciousness, but I was never lost the way most stream-of-consciousness stories had made me feel.

The only thing that's keeping me from giving this a full five stars is the dialogue. There are parts, especially with Rose's and Lan's dialogue, that seemed more like Vuong's own voice rather than his mother's and grandmother's. This is noticeable on the first part, but as the book progressed, the dialogue became more natural to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, and War

Minor: Self harm

htoomanybooks's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Abortion, and War

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Genocide, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Vomit, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sinchan's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, Abortion, and War

rudi1452's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Suicide

atsundarsingh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

I didn't know what to expect of a poet's first novel, but this is so lyrically written it hurts even when it's good. I love the epistolary format, and even more so because it's written to someone who may never read it. I was also really taken by the way Vuong writes about loving a parent who is violent but whose violence is understandable in a sense, since it comes from a series of overlapping traumas and still being angry or helpless with that parent. Really moving and bold novel, with some hard to read content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

tasleemreads's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

#OnEarthWereBrieflyGorgeous is a top tier read. Ocean Vuong and the women in his life; mother and grandmother who escaped the Vietnamese war, settle in America. This book is a letter Vuong writes directly to his mother, who understands very little English, giving Vuong the courage to share all of his thoughts, feelings and not hold anything back. This gave readers an even deeper insight into his life, troubles and hardships. It was surprisingly intimate, like I had Vuong's personal journal and had access to his private thoughts and sacred experiences, which I basically did ~ I loved it! ~

I haven't come across writing like this and was taken aback by how poetic and beautiful it is. I often re-read passages and had to take a moment to really process what was being shared and the depth of his thoughts. As an immigrant, gay man and only child, Vuong struggled with acceptance, belonging and the familial pressures placed on him. Themes like sexuality, family, relationships, love and trauma were explored with such raw honesty, it was breathtaking.

I would recommend this book to everyone!! An amazing book that will leave you thinking about it ages after you've put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Violence