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fviryshelves's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Racism, War, Drug use, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Transphobia, Drug abuse, and Death
lucy12345's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Addiction, Violence, Death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Abortion, Excrement, Racism, Xenophobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: War and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Gun violence and Transphobia
lexipassno's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Grief, and Transphobia
laurenkimoto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I also don’t annotate books but I want a physical copy of this book to annotate because there are so many wonderful lines and quotes and more
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Cancer, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Vomit, Abandonment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Animal death
sarahrosea's review against another edition
- 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
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
sometimes_samantha_reads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness, Medical content, Racial slurs, Abortion, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Grief, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
akimakami's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: War, Homophobia, Violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia
emilia_digi's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Death, Cancer, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Homophobia, Hate crime, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Addiction, War, and Violence
Minor: Vomit
margozaldivar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: War, Abandonment, Transphobia, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use
artemisg's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
This book is written as a letter from a son to a mother, telling the story of his life intertwined with his family history. As a family “born from war”, their history is turbulent and filled with tragedy. This tragedy made my heart hurt for quite literally everyone involved. But, the novel continued, diving into the beauty of loving and living, and the family became one “born from beauty”. The beauty they were born from has been directly transferred into the pages of this novel. I was somehow manipulated into loving and caring for seemingly unsympathetic characters because no one in this novel was truly unsympathetic.
Weirdly, it felt like a privilege to read this book. It was very intimate. I felt like I was crawling into Vuong’s brain and having a rummage through his memories. I loved how fractured some of the prose and ideas were; this made it feel like an actual stream of consciousness, a real letter to a real loved one.
Anyway, this review is borderline incoherent; all I can say is that this book is beautiful. Nice work.
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Transphobia