Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

346 reviews

distraughtplant's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

4.5

Vuong poetic history shines through even in his novel. Sections bounce from place to place with purpose, and bittersweet comfort is deliberately ripped away with reminders of grotesque and disturbing realities of both humans and animals, which are a recurring theme in this book. Despite sometimes being difficult to read, once I started I could hardly stop. If you want a book you can fall into, this is one I'd recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Excrement

Moderate: Addiction, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, and Alcohol

Minor: Xenophobia and War

solobjo's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and War

Moderate: Animal death and Abortion

rose_reads_books's review against another edition

dark reflective 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? No

4.75

The only reason I’m not giving this absolute masterpiece of literary fiction five stars is the time I read it. Reading it when in a rush and not ready for such a touching and deep book I didn’t get to enjoy the craftsmanship of writing. Yet even though the book is slow paced, which is dreadful to me; it took me through emotional turmoil and provoked tears not only once. As a lover of poetry I want this book to stay close to me and will proceed to looks at Oceans other works 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Blood, Excrement, Car accident, Abortion, Alcohol, and Colonisation

ilona222's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

beautiful with endless of exclamation marks 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Animal death and War

lucinotlucy'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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Abortion, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Gun violence, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Grief, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

paulawind'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

5.0

This was the most beautifully written book I’ve read in my life. Every word was a piece of art. I often caught myself rereading some sentences not because they were necessarily groundbreakingly profound but both poetic and hitting all the heartstrings.
I am an emigrant myself (though from much more fortunate circumstances) so I often related to what Little Dog was saying about the duality which develops in you - the link in your ancestral and new culture.
This book tackles many issues but the one which shines through most (or rather hangs on characters like an illness) is the intergenerational trauma and how it impacted every member of Little Dog’s family.

I cried so much reading this novel and yet it firmly places in top 5 (maybe even top 3) of my 2021 reads. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual content

anyname's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, and Abortion

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Blood, Abandonment, and War

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Excrement, Vomit, and Medical content

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

mel_sh's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

 “When does a war end? When can I say your name and have it mean only your name and not what you left behind?”

the words are honestly failing me right now
this book transcends everything that we know about what a novel should look like and transforms it into one of the most gut wrenching and lyrical reading experiences i’ve ever had. as the daughter of two immigrants of war, there was so much that hit close to home for me and as someone who didn’t know much about the Vietnam war, there is so much that i was able to learn. there are so many quotes i could have included in here, this whole book was just an absolute masterpiece.

“I am writing because they told me to never start a sentence with because. But I wasn't trying to make a sentence—I was trying to break free. Because freedom, I am told, is nothing but the distance between the hunter and its prey.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

ethab's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Alcohol, and War

Moderate: Blood and Vomit

Minor: Cancer