Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Op aarde schitteren we even by Ocean Vuong

57 reviews

martapsalvado's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

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

2.5

I'm... very disappointed. This book was on my tbr for so long and I thought it was going to be emotional, sad, beautifully written and a just a little challenging to read because of the poetic writing and the fact that english is not my first language. 
Well, it was definitely sad and indeed challenging to read, but the beauty of the writing, while it was there, seemed forced. As for the emotions, it didn't really give me many. 
Vuong writes in a very lyrical way, and while that is not necessarily a bad thing, I thought it was too much more often that not. Some metaphors, comparisons and substituions of one perfectly suitable word or expression for a more "poetic" one were totally unnecessary. On other note, some descriptions were so unnecessarily graphic, almost forcefully graphic (which reminds me to warn potential readers to check the trigger warnings).
Also, I found myself infinitely waiting for the plot to develop, the characters to develop and... it just never happened (?) The characters lacked depth, at least from my point of view.
The good:
• The cover is gorgeous;
• The title is stunning;
• I liked the idea of writing a story in the form of a letter to the main character's mother (with the twist that the mother can't read);
• The writing was indeed beautiful in some parts;
• It covered some really relevant topics.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Addiction, Cancer, Death, Dementia, Homophobia, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, War, Blood, Bullying, and Physical abuse

Minor: Car accident and Medical content

mrdeadman's review against another edition

challenging 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: Child abuse, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Colonisation, Medical content, Mental illness, and Cursing

b0ygenius's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

i found the first part to be slow and too disjointed and just hard to get into, and i felt that in the third part a bit too but i fell absolutely head over heels in love with the second part. like secret gay love affair, summer, teenage angst, discovering your identity???????? literally written for me. like if u look at anything i’ve ever written all of those themes are there i’m obsessed

[revisit, 3/22/22] this book stuck with me a lot more than i thought it would. revisited the second part today and yeah it still hit just as hard. absolutely gutting. perfectly captures the feeling of first love and secret relationships, especially ones where you’re young and naive and taken advantage of. the story with trevor reminds me so much of my first relationship so it just hits So hard for me. the poem at the end is just incredible too probably my favorite from vuong. so many incredible quotes from this section but “you who crawled from the wreck of summer like sons leaving their mothers’ bodies” always knocks me out. i have to physically put down the book after i read that. incredible

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Addiction, Drug use, Mental illness, War, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Moderate: Abortion

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, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, and Abortion

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

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

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: Abortion, Alcohol, Animal death, Bullying, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, War, and Xenophobia

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

brennach's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and War

laurabarrett'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Terminal illness, Violence, and Xenophobia

starlit_pathways's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Homophobia, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, War, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Vomit, Medical content, and Abortion

ashleycmms's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Abortion, Addiction, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Cancer, Bullying, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Drug use

Moderate: Confinement

Ocean writing is fantastic, and I can’t believe I have taken this long to read some of their work. The way the story unfolds tells a beautiful story of tragedy and tenderness in the world. Out of this world.

_kimb'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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Genocide, Grief, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Blood, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content