Reviews tagging 'Gore'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

43 reviews

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

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

claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Violence, Gore, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual content, War, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Vomit, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Self harm, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Genocide, Cancer, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

lexlibris's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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? No

4.5

This blew me away. Very tough given many parts felt like long form poetry but the prose were beautiful and the mother/son relationship and observations were complex and depressing and cathartic as well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Genocide

Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, and Racial slurs

ethab's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and War

Moderate: Blood and Vomit

Minor: Cancer

graceanna's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Terminal illness, War, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, and Animal death

Moderate: Car accident, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Xenophobia, and Abortion

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Alcohol, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

paperbackpotables's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

If I could rate this book as 10/5 stars, I would. This book was beyond perfect. I savored each page, each word. The beauty of this work is without measure. I cried, multiple times. I smiled, I cringed, I was uncomfortable, I was horrified, I was elated. I felt what the author felt, understood a life I would never live on a level I’d never known existed. You can tell the author is a poet with the beauty of these words, but it was much more than just beautiful writing. There was pain, real pain, behind this book. But also joy and love and truth. It was raw, and emotional, and unlike anything I’ve ever read. I can’t recommend this book enough. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

itslitladies's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Amazing. It's written very poetically and wow I did cry. Some areas where it was written beautifully but I ABSOLUTELY did not understand what he was saying

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, and Sexual content