Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Brevemente risplendiamo sulla terra by Ocean Vuong, Claudia Durastanti

615 reviews

katanai's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

this was so, so raw. raw in the way your skin feels after getting sun burnt - hot, with a reassurance that after the initial burn, even the brush of your own clothes is going to make your skin sting for a couple of days because of it's rawness. but, reading this was also like being swept up in a river where everything flows so gently until the current picks up and you remember that you're in a river and you've never really known how to float, but you can swim, but the cold is eating at your skin and how long can you go? 

i already mentioned it but vuong's writing is so captivating and raw and there were several lines that made me cry, but the type of crying that builds up without you knowing and then suddenly you're crying silently. i think i've tapped too much, but this was so so raw without it being tryhard. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

Minor: Abortion

tahinisaltsummer's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

intimate, violently sad, deeply moving. vuong has a wonderful prose, I loved the extended metaphors that structured the text. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Death of parent

mates's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Homophobia, and Racism

cigarete_smoke's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, Abortion, and War

Moderate: Cancer

loquaciousleon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

A spiritual and emotional masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, War, and Classism

adverb17's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

4.75

"Novel" is a weak word for this. This is a masterclass in poetic connection-making.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Homophobia, Racism, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and War

josiemeyer's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War

bruhbruh's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and War

Minor: Child death

theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

This book was difficult for me to get into and I felt dumb quite a few times for not being able to follow the writing style. I didn’t always understand what was happening, when, where, and with whom. I wonder if reading the physical copy would have been better for my brain. 

Little Dog’s narration jumps around through the years and generations of his family, sharing the hardships of their survival. Parts of the story are upsetting. Even though I am an emotional person I did not shed a single tear while listening to this book. Probably because I didn’t get into the story or characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

lia_mills'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? It's complicated

3.5

Method: audiobook

To be honest, I found Part I of this book to be difficult to get through, in a "this feels like homework" kind of way (and this is coming from someone who usually enjoyed doing English homework).

I suspected choosing the audiobook may have been a mistake - this book uses a lot of poetic language in a way that often works on the page but can be a little exhausting to listen to, and the way the story moves back and forth across memories over years or decades, although effective in helping us understand the narrator, can be a little confusing in audiobook form.

But from Part II onwards it picked up for me - maybe I just got used to it. It's certainly an evocative story, with a lot of insights into the life of a shy, thoughtful, working-class, queer, Vietnamese-American young man, and a level of emotional depth that makes me understand why it's been so highly regarded.

Some quotes I found particularly interesting:

• "The thing is, I don't want my sadness to be othered from me, just as I don't want my happiness to be othered. They're both mine. I made them, damn it."
 • "Too much joy, I swear, is lost in the desperation to keep it."
 • "You asked me what it's like to be a writer, and I'm giving you a mess, I know. But it's a mess, Ma. I'm not making this up. I made it down."

Works (2) this made me think of: 

• My Sister's Keeper (2004 family/medical/legal drama novel by Jodie Picoult): has a similar aspect of moving through time (although from a variety of different narrators rather than the one here), and a similar reliance on (and, to my mind, borderline overuse of) explanatory metaphor and symbolism.
• Call Me By Your Name (2007 coming-of-age novel by Andre Aciman): has a similar exploration of a secret MM relationship, from the first-person perspective of the more (comparatively) introverted partner. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Abortion