Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Op aarde schitteren we even by Ocean Vuong

126 reviews

forestblue's review against another edition

Graphic animal abuse is not the vibe for a bedtime book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Excrement, War, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Vomit

neni's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• 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 a tricky book to rate. The format is quite interesting and unique, the story being broken up into little sections or "scenes", like little windows into the character's lives. While this sometimes made the narrative confusing and hard to follow, it was very effective in making the reader feel progressively more immersed into the character's lives, almost like watching a movie or a showreel of moments that on their own mean nothing, but together make a full, human picture. The writing itself was incredible and, I think, perfect for the type of story the author was trying to convey. The style was beautiful in its flowery descriptions and moving with its raw imagery. I didn't have a greater time reading this book because, while beautiful,  it's also incredibly sad and depressing, so in order to preserve my sanity I kept myself from being as emotionally invested as usual. That, in itself, is proof of the quality of the book, since the story and its characters felt like real people. Overall, a great piece of fiction, I think useful for everyone to read at some point in their lives. Just be mindful of the dark subjects and  trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Excrement, Drug use, Abortion, Bullying, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, and Car accident

hannibanani29's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, and Death

Moderate: Abortion, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Racism, Grief, Cancer, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, Excrement, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Drug abuse

Minor: Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Alcohol, Classism, and Cursing

sarahrosea'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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, War, Animal cruelty, and Death

Moderate: Cancer, Colonisation, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Abortion, Blood, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Terminal illness

Minor: Transphobia and Murder

hayleydunn's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, War, Blood, Homophobia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Child abuse, Death, and Emotional abuse

nialiversuch's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, War, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Addiction, Violence, Death, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse

Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Drug use, Cursing, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Terminal illness, Grief, and Cancer

Minor: Pregnancy

bites_of_books's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

3.5

There is no question that Ocean Vuong can write. There were passages that struck deep in my core and that I can't shake. 

Little Dog is a young man who is writing a letter to his mother, telling her about many aspects of his life that he'd never told her before. We learn about his family's story in Vietnam as well as what happened as he grew up in the US. This is all told in snippets that jump back and forth between memories, almost like a structured and poetic stream of consciousness. While it was beautiful it was also violent and raw and simply overwhelming at times. 

I so wish that the structure of the novel had been a bit more linear, adding that to the poetic writing made it quite difficult to fully appreciate everything that was going on in the novel. If anything, I think this is one novel that I'll get a lot more out of upon re-reading it. 

I'd recommend it but definitely check the trigger warnings before reading, be patient, take your time, and keep an open mind for a novel that is blurring the lines between novel and poetry. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and War

strawberrysheepie's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

So so so beautiful!!! Includes heavy topics so read with caution. Vuong’s writing is just so gorgeous and I can’t wait to read some more. This is definitely a book I’ll reread, and if you like poetry you’ll like this. One of my fave lines: ‘let no one mistake us for the fruit of violence - but that violence, having passed through the fruit, failed to spoil it.’

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual content, Blood, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Gun violence, Animal death, Death, Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use

handful_of_frogs's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Excrement, Death of parent, Addiction, Sexual content, Grief, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Death, Cursing, Child abuse, and Racism

oracle_of_delphi's review against another edition

dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

the best thing ive read this year, truly an epic portrayal of maternal relationships, queerness, addiction, and creative culture in the modern age. This is less a novel and more an ocean. Please read this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Addiction

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug abuse, Xenophobia, and Homophobia

Minor: Abortion and Blood