Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

21 reviews

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

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

a_alves00's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and War

sunsetcity's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, 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

alyssadavis's review against another edition

dark 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

3.5

The children, the veal, they stand very still because tenderness depends on
how little the world touches you. To stay tender, the weight of your
life cannot lean on your bones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Dementia, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content

saoreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

Raw. Vulnerable. Familiarity. I find myself holding back the tears from numerous lines that utter honesty. From history, childhood traumas, racism, discrimination, being gay, love and grief - this book carries alot of emotions, all well too real. While reading, it felt like unearthing something, as if I can unravel what comes to our thoughts and feel it too deeply. Its got so many quotes that can make you question things and ponder upon, a favorite of mine states, "Because freedom, I am told, is nothing but the distance between the hunter and its prey." It's a lovely memoir, one that engraves to a person's self-identity. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, and Abandonment

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Drug abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy

mamagina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

Wow. To think this is a first novel is amazing. Character and story intertwine with circular telling and visceral imagery. The story of a gay Vietnamese-American figuring out his identities and relationships with family and friends as it has not been told. There is so much quotable wisdom in this book. A challenging and stressful. Read, but told with such tenderness and love. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

hapennybooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Xenophobia