Reviews tagging 'Gore'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

43 reviews

cobwebshelves's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Blood, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Alcoholism, Addiction, Excrement, Bullying, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Car accident, Gore, War, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Homophobia, and Grief

killeenm's review against another edition

dark reflective sad 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

2.0

I wanted to like this book but I really didn’t. The first part was the best in my opinion, and I did appreciate the book’s exploration of war, immigration, parents, and queerness. Overall, I didn’t understand the sometimes overly metaphoric tangents, even though I wanted to understand what they were getting at, I didn’t. They didn’t flow well with the rest of the book and seemed like an author’s attempt to work in certain points without actually having to tie it into the story. As the book went on, graphic descriptions turned gruesome and torturous to read. I’m not one to shy away from reality or portrayals of it, but it was too much for me at times, and most of the time it didn’t seem to add to the point of the book. It was obviously written by a talented poet, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Bullying, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Child abuse, War, Murder, Abortion, Violence, Homophobia, Hate crime, Excrement, Vomit, Racism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Addiction

raelong12's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Animal death, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Car accident, Classism, Addiction, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug use, Racism, Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and War

shaanll's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Gore, Child abuse, Sexual content, and War

novella42's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

I can still hear Vuong's gentle, relentless voice when I read quotes or pages from the hardcopy I finally picked up. Sometimes I read a little to remind the writer part of my brain how lyrical words work, and what kind of writer I want to be.

His author-read audiobook performance of this powerful book was nothing short of magnificent. 

A queer Vietnamese American man writes a letter to his mother, a survivor of the Vietnam War, who cannot read. His love for her, and hers for him, is ferocious and beautiful beyond words. Vuong is a poet, but strangely, I find his novel more compelling than his poetry. Tons of content warnings, to the degree I don't know when I will ever feel mentally resilient enough in my own C-PTSD to re-read it in its entirety, but if you're in the mood for a good cry, I can't think of anything more cathartic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Chronic illness, Blood, Homophobia, Car accident, Misogyny, War, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Self harm, Addiction, Sexual content, Animal death, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Cancer, Abortion, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Excrement, Cursing, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Gore, Pregnancy, Dementia, Suicide, Sexual assault, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Child death, Rape, Abandonment, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Deportation, Body horror, Sexism, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Torture, Cannibalism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Adult/minor relationship, War, Confinement, Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, and Murder

philippmk's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

4.5

I really enjoyed the complicated relationship between the protagonist and his mother and the deep love that exists despite their issues. A very introspective story about how shared trauma can hurt you, but also bring you closer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Racism, Violence, Gore, Child abuse, and Sexual content

lucille_c's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Addiction, Blood, Gore, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, War, Animal death, Drug abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Medical content, Terminal illness, Car accident, Child abuse, Abortion, Bullying, Cancer, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

little_lichen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, and War

Moderate: Xenophobia, Mental illness, Bullying, Gore, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Cancer

lucyfette's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

oh my god … this book … i finished it in just under a day, it was … wow … i have so much to say and i will attempt to convey my thoughts in a succinct manner. firstly the writing is so so beautiful, the way the backstory and flashbacks interweave with present day and present feelings is so cleverly done. the extended metaphors and overall semantic field ties everything together so unbelievably well? i was on page 39 and i was already gushing at how gorgeously (haha) it was written. the words and sentences are true poetry, it makes you question life and morals and how to truly live. there are so many quotable moments of truly incredible storytelling that i don’t even know how a single person could think of them. it also plays with syntax and grammar, wobbles in chronological order and doesn’t follow a particular narrative line. it is simply a letter written to the main speakers mother in a way he wants to write that letter.

and the story itself is rich with diverse representation and intricate details of storytelling. talking about the vietnamese war and how insanely impactful it was upon our characters and thousands of real people too. how the whole narrative itself is heartbreaking, because the main speaker is writing a letter to his mother, who cannot read. he’s pouring his heart out and sharing his life to somebody who will never be able to read it. we have asian-american lgbt representation too, and the impact of holding that identity has as well. everything is so .. incredibly handled and discussed im actually in awe.

the characters are all so different and unique and can be visualised so easily. the main narrator of the book, little dog, is extremely insightful and breaks the world into little pieces to be able to discuss it. i wouldn’t say little dog necessarily does anything spectacular or creates a massive event or anything like that, but you can’t help but be so intrigued in what he has to say and the way he views the world. the love, the hate, the admiration he has for everything that’s ever happened in his life or anyone he is close to lives. 

i experienced incredible heart ache for all the people in this book, i was captured by the story and truly cared about everyone. this book is one everyone has to read, i adore books that sit in the metaphorical, poetry like category and this is definitely one of them. i cant wait to see what else ocean vuong writes, because this was an absolutely spectacular debut novel. 

tldr: READ THIS BOOK YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT !!!!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

hannahlouise_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

probably one of the best books i have ever read. i vigorously annotated every page, every word felt dripping with emotion and the weight of memory and remembering.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Chronic illness, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Abortion, Gun violence, Violence, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Gore