Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

76 reviews

fatfrog's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence

falk's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Sexual violence

elo_k's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Violence

anna_whitehead11's review against another edition

challenging emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.75

 Beautiful, lyrical prose - at times slipping into poetry - as the narrator, ‘Little Dog’, writes a letter to his illiterate mother, telling his coming-of-age-story as he figures out what it means to grow up as a Vietnamese immigrant in Hartford, Connecticut - and explores his homosexuality. At times difficult to read as it discusses (occasionally quite graphically) the violence and trauma of the Vietnam War, and its lasting intergenerational impact, but overall sensitive and revealing. 

An important read to understand the Vietnamese immigrant experience in modern America - which raises interesting points of comparison to Cecile Pin’s Wandering Souls, in turn set in Britain. It very occasionally feels too rhetorical and creative-writing-student-y - perhaps heightened by the one-sided nature of the letter, which we know his mother will not be able to read - but this doesn’t detract from the overall force of the work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Abortion, and War

Moderate: Racism

emml1604's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-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

3.25

It felt unfinished 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death 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

chaosbumblebee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Such a beautiful book it makes me want to go back and lower my rating of everything else so that this is the only 5 star read I have this year--or ever. Heartbreaking, poignant, perfect and imperfect, Vuong puts words to feelings I didn't know words could be put to. I need to call my mom.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, 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, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jenna0818's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring relaxing sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

Just amazing, the most beautiful yet accessible prose and reflections on the human experience, woven through a hazy nonlinear sequence of vignettes. I cried and learned so much, felt true feelings that connect me to generations of humans across space and time. thank you, sorry I didn’t read this sooner!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Grief, and War

analia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The title alone is striking and hints at the weight of the book. Such a heavy, gorgeously written story. The author packs so much into each sentence, I found myself rereading things over and over, to fully digest each word and its implications. Sometimes this style of writing feels too over the top for me, but it was just the right amount. 
Trevor and Little Dog's relationship is written with such care, humor, sadness. Lan and Rose... their stories are haunting. I read this book as my grandmother's health began declining and it hit close to home. 
I listened to an interview with the author after reading the book and I think they do such a wonderful job of writing autobiographical fiction. It feels very real; I appreciate their sentiment of not wanting to write a memoir and profit off the trauma of their loved ones. Overall a quiet, beautiful, disturbing, memorable novel about the overwhelming sadness present in the poor queer Vietnamese American experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexual violence

kalaser's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Dementia, and Abortion

Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Homophobia

Minor: Racism, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and War