Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

181 reviews

ifreyley's review against another edition

dark hopeful 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

4.5

Beautifully written, an artistic depiction of a life (or rather, multiple lives, or rather, a parent–child relationship) that feels almost like a painting. Dark subject matter and harrowing world history are littered with moments of beauty and hope, and above all the focus is love, however complicated that can be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Grief, and Pregnancy

veelaughtland's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

liljuliep's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Excrement, Pregnancy, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

nehaanna's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

This book rides the fine line between poetry and novel, book and art. Sometimes the line between abstract free form poetry is blurred, and the narrative runs together. But somehow the story is preserved. The premise of the book is to answer the question of a displaced Vietnamese woman - who am I? Where are we? However, the question is answered in snapshot for from the voice of her son, who writes to her in the form of letters. It is an impossible paradox - the mother does not speak or write English and did not learn enough of her native tongue to pass it down to her son. So the son, the first generation in America, is forced to converse in a foreign language. 

The journey the son, Little Dog goes through takes one through everything from domestic abuse, child abuse, bullying at school from other children, internalized misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, racism, drug use, and death. The definitions of family, lover, friend, and more are all reassessed, reframed, readdressed. This boy longs for recognition more than anything, searching for identity in the swath of the US ravaged by cycles of poverty, abuse, drug use, and drug crises. There is freedom in telling one’s story but also an act of taking, of possession, something not afforded often to everyone equally.

In all, this is a stunning debut novel that may read as too high brow, pretentious, vulgar, or debasing to some. But that is life, is it not? That is what storytelling allows us to do. While I definitely struggled at times when the story used abstract poetry or the narrative switched timelines, I still came away from this novel knowing more language to put to experiences. Which is the greatest gift this novel can give. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Homophobia, and Colonisation

mukajule's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, and War

Moderate: Cancer, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Terminal illness, Excrement, Car accident, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Deportation

enochthepumpkin's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Excrement, Car accident, and Colonisation

Minor: Dementia and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

zerohearo's review

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I’ve read poems by Ocean Vuong and seen his photography at Toledo Museum of Art. This book is a longer form of his excellent writing. It’s so sensory! I continue to be awed by the mastery he displays in expressing so many ideas at once. His interviews are just as fascinating and beautiful as his work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Sexual content

Moderate: Excrement and Grief

Minor: War

fixesofia's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Excrement, Vomit, Car accident, and Abortion

omarhabib's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, and War

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Excrement, Grief, and Abortion

jadamichellemather's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.0

holy shit this book took me so long to get through for how short it was!! this author really likes the sound of their own voice and comes across very pretentious. lots of fake deep poetry that I guess would sound good if I was an edgy 14 year old.  and holy shit (literally) there was way too much talk of poop and “piss” for one singular book. also horrific animal mutilation that came on so suddenly and was so shocking and out of place. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual content, Excrement, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Pregnancy