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my_weird_bookish_heart's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Cancer and Abortion
dandelionsanddragons's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Grief, and War
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Domestic abuse
jalenlomeli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Grief
geneebee's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexism, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
nolongeremi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, and Injury/Injury detail
graceanna's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, and War
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Car accident, and Abortion
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol
uss_mary_shelley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Racism
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
Minor: Excrement and Colonisation
sadiefc's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Sexual content, Abortion, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation
tenderbench's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
beckyjc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
There are a lot of heavy themes here: surviving war and occupation, domestic violence, immigration and racism, homophobia, drug addiction, death, animal cruelty....I think this is the book for which I've listed the most content warnings on this site! Any book that contains such harrowing subject matter is always going to be tough going at times, and this is no exception. The sheer weight of the post-traumatic stress on show here can be very oppressive. And I don't think I've come across a scene that disgusted me as much as the monkey brain scene since 'The Wasp Factory'.
But Vuong does have a lyrical and reflective writing style that manages to lift the bleak and harsh reality that is depicted above the gratuitous and offensive. Some of the passages are stunning and I paused a few times to re-read a powerful sentence that grabbed me. There is the wry, jaded wisdom that is often found in the voices of writers who understand grief and extreme suffering only by experience. But there is also beauty too. Sometimes this feels a little jarring and the prose can get overly stylised. I discovered afterwards that Vuong is also a poet and that makes a lot of sense. I felt like he lost me a bit at times, and I became a bit unmoored, but he didn't remain in this register for too long. His complicated feelings for his mother and his burgeoning desire for Trevor are described in ways that can stray towards high-mindedness but stop before becoming too exclusionist.
My overall impression was to veer between feeling present and witness to the narrator's experiences, and untethered, unsure of the direction - which is quite fitting given the narrator's own turmoil and his expressed intention that he is writing in English to his mother who cannot read or speak the language. This can lend a detached feeling to the writing, as if presented in full knowledge that it will never reach its target readership. This can be both freeing and stifling.
An impressive piece of writing, and a good representation of the dark underbelly of the American Dream. Now for something a bit cheerier!
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Grief, and Abortion
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Car accident, and War