Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Brevemente risplendiamo sulla terra by Ocean Vuong, Claudia Durastanti

197 reviews

anton13's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautiful. Just beautiful. Seriously the way Ocean writes is so poetic, I love it! And just the way he’s able to intertwine everything he’s been through with well placed facts and anecdotes is amazing. I always love finding good writing and this truly is as good as it gets. I love everything about it. I’d truly recommend it to anyone and everyone!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Blood, Drug abuse, Animal death, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Pregnancy, Abortion, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Violence, Car accident, Medical content, and Vomit

stardustdreamer's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Blood, Cancer, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Homophobia, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Abortion, War, Violence, and Car accident

Minor: Vomit

bookworm47's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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

4.25

Hauntingly written this small but powerful novel propels its readers towards the edge of a cliff, feeling everything at once. The sadness engulfs and blocks out any other emotions of confusion or indignation. Those who have lived through similar experiences may find it hard to contend with, as it is one of few fictional novels that is devastatingly successful in transmitting truth. Be wary when picking this up but I can’t say that you’ll regret it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Xenophobia, War, Addiction, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

raiju's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Addiction, Cancer, Car accident, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Abortion, Alcoholism, Death, and Colonisation

nicnevin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-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

Poetic and raw, it's honestly beyond words for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Vomit, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

3.75

while the plot was good and the writing was lush and poetic, i did not realize there were such graphic depictions of sex and abuse. I do not think anyone really talks about this and it was a little startling. please check the trigger warnings!!!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Cancer, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

mxlodique'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

4.75

Probably my favourite book I've read so far.
It's not at all a "regular" book, meaning that it's much more focused on the characters rather than on telling a common story with a plot. It jumps from flashback to flashback quite abruptly I'd say, which at first might be unsettling.
It tells a variety of stories: from the war in Vietnam, to domestic abuse, to living as an immigrant in an unknown country, to sexuality and sex, to drug abuse and death.
I personally loved it.
For my foreign readers/non native english speakers: If you're not really fluent in English this book might be a bit challenging, I'd say I'm a B2 and at times I found it difficult to understand. I'd suggest reading it in your native language if you're not confident in English, it's truly a beautiful novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, War, Death, Abortion, Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Child abuse

Moderate: Excrement

thecatconstellation's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.5

This is absolutely beautifully written and absolutely heart wrenching.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Addiction, Cancer, Dementia, Excrement, Violence, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Death

Moderate: Racism, Colonisation, Medical content, War, and Xenophobia

fengxin'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: Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Animal death, War, Cancer, Gun violence, Homophobia, Child abuse, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug use, Physical abuse, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Racism, Grief, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Addiction, Hate crime, and Terminal illness

leoniekross's review against another edition

challenging 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? N/A

3.5

Took me a month to read, partially because the subject matter at times was very challenging to read through and partially because of the ebb and flow of how much the book sucked me in. The author is know for a writing style bursting with metaphors and imagery which I found well-done throughout most of this book but veering into bloated towards the end. I didn't vibe at all with the last 30 or so pages but the beginning is wonderful. As you can see, I find it truly hard to make up my mind about this book in its entirety but I will say that my mom enjoyed it, for what it's worth.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, War, Car accident, Sexual violence, Racism, Grief, Cancer, Addiction, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, and Cancer