Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

140 reviews

phantasmfiend's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Grief, Mental illness, Drug use, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Gore, Racial slurs, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Addiction, and Physical abuse

Minor: Car accident and Cancer

minzzi's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-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

   I have no words to describe this book the way it deserves.
   It's without a dout the most beautiful book I have ever read. The story is mesmerizing and heartbreaking, the writing is just perfect. The amount of emocion the author was capable of injecting into every word of this book is otherworldly. 
   Please, if you have the chance read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Abortion, Addiction, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

Minor: Car accident, Domestic abuse, and Cancer

jelliestars's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, Grief, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, War, Child abuse, Violence, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Xenophobia, Abortion, Mental illness, and Blood

Minor: Transphobia, Car accident, Child death, Alcoholism, and Gun violence

justinlewry's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I miss you more than I remember you.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is unlike anything I’ve ever read. It seamlessly moves between poetry and prose in every sentence to tell a complex, layered story of inter-generational trauma, love, loss, and our place in the world. 

It simultaneously feels huge and very contained - a shifting scale. 

There’s a lot that I really loved in this book, particularly Little Dog’s first experience of love in and endless summer, and his exploration of his connection to place, to people and to the past. But unfortunately there was a lot that I didn’t connect with. 

This book has a lot to say, but not all of it had an impact on me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Racism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, and War

tetedump's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Car accident, Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Abortion, Genocide, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Mental illness, War, and Xenophobia

mmwiseheart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

I had mixed feelings about this one. I struggle to read books that are stream of consciousness or jump back and forth through time, so I had to take it slowly. There was a lot of sadness on this book, but it also had some hope. I did find a lot that really resonates with me. It covers a variety of topics, physical abuse, drug addiction, family dynamics, Vietnamese culture, trauma, grief, just to name some of them. Because if this, I think anyone can find something in it that they can identify with and take some meaning from it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, War, Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Classism, Child abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, and Racism

Minor: Abandonment, Blood, Alcoholism, Car accident, Excrement, Hate crime, Confinement, and Death of parent

kurumipanda's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Gore, Animal death, Child abuse, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Bullying, Xenophobia, Racism, Homophobia, War, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Addiction

Minor: Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcoholism, and Gun violence

angelbabe_cj's review against another edition

challenging 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Death, Drug use, Death of parent, and Animal death

Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Dementia, Car accident, Blood, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Racism

purplehulk713's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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

3.5

That was remarkable. Effortlessly elegant and profound, Ocean Vuong is an author’s poet. Little Dog redeems himself in his reflection, it seems, recalling the beauty of Lan, Rose, and Trevor, and how that both outweighed and encompassed their horrors and wars. And it does him too. Running towards the cliff is a choice for him because he lets himself fly instead of falling off the edge. Vuong’s voice along this journey was one of the most evocative and cathartic I have ever encountered. I adored his poetic use of etymology and data to express the trauma and truth of his characters. His critique of the United States is completely on point. Vuong truly understands how language informs us just as much as we inform it. This is evident in the Hoa Nguyen quote that ends the novel:

The past tense of sing is not singed.

This book is so raw and penetrating—I recommend listening to it and reading it at the same time. But I think the real question is—will you embrace your brief beauty?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Excrement, Animal death, Death of parent, Death, Homophobia, Addiction, Blood, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Grief, War, and Xenophobia

miller8d's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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

4.0

I read this book a few months ago, so it isn’t super fresh in my mind, but my memory of it entails gorgeous poetic language, brilliantly detailed storytelling, and incredible nonfictional world-building.
Note: I vaguely pictured Edvin Ryding as Trevor.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Homophobia, Violence, Car accident, Grief, Torture, War, Death, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Physical abuse, and Animal death