Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

183 reviews

chrisljm's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Ocean Vuong writes so beautifully and so poetically. I felt I was able to enjoy this book because I saw it less as a novel and more as a poetic memoir in the form of vignettes, which he uses to narrate his experiences growing up as a child in the United States as a Vietnamese immigrant post-Vietnam war to a parent with PTSD. Vuong's writing is so vividly melancholic and haunting, and these feelings follow even during the soft vulnerability of his childhood and youth. There's so much introspection but also a stillness as if no matter how far time and space takes you, you will always be haunted by this current time, place, and feeling. 

I want to include one of my favorite quotes from the book: "I know you believe in reincarnation. I don’t know if I do but I hope it’s real. Because then maybe you’ll come back here next time around. Maybe you’ll be a girl and maybe your name will be Rose again, and you’ll have a room full of books with parents who will read you bedtime stories in a country not touched by war. Maybe then, in that life and in this future, you’ll find this book and you’ll know what happened to us. And you’ll remember me. Maybe." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, War, Homophobia, Abortion, Drug use, Bullying, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

kiandrareadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Addiction, Animal death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Sexual content, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

gentlemanjack's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Classism, War, Sexual content, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Racial slurs

jayg's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Death, Homophobia, Alcohol, Drug use, Excrement, Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Drug abuse, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

janineledet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

A young man pens a letter to his mother explaining their complicated relationship, his sexuality, and how his past and dramatically impacted his current perception about life. Poetically written this unbearing of the soul is heart-wrenching to read, particularly since the actions of those at fault are simply a consequence of their own past. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Racism, Grief, Gore, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug use, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, War, Pregnancy, and Drug abuse

Minor: Abortion

violetbentbackwards1036's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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: Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Addiction, Hate crime, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Gore, Abandonment, Abortion, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, War, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Racism, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

misuki's review against another edition

emotional informative 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Mental illness and Sexual violence

jiangslore's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

[5/5]

“Sobre a terra somos belos por um instante” é um daqueles livros que precisam de tempo para serem absorvidos. E é um daqueles que, mesmo quando são absorvidos, deixam muito pouco a dizer — como eu poderia ter a pretensão de acrescentar algo substancial quando o autor já expressou tão delicada e profundamente as temáticas da obra? Mas acredito que vale a pena apontar algumas das qualidades do livro, mesmo que eu não faça jus à beleza dele, só para tentar convencer alguém a realizar a leitura.

Este livro é tão visceral e real que eu tive que procurar informações sobre ele mais de uma vez para realmente me convencer de que era uma obra de ficção. Claro, o que é narrado no livro tem relação com fatos históricos, em especial, com a Guerra do Vietnã. Com certeza muitas mulheres passaram por coisas parecidas com o que Lan passou, e a dificuldade de Rose de entender sua própria identidade (e, posteriormente, a idade de seu filho) é muito realista, também. As próprias experiências do Cachorrinho (sim, é um humano, não, não entrarei em detalhes sobre por que ele tem esse nome — descubra lendo), filho de Rose e narrador, são realistas, também. Mas o que traz o nível extra de realismo de “Sobre a terra somos belos por um instante” é a complexidade na forma que sentimentos são narrados. Nada, nenhuma situação encontrada no livro, é simples. Então não tem como o que as pessoas nelas envolvidas sentem ser simples — e Ocean Vuong captura isso maravilhosamente.

O livro é um romance epistolar, ou seja, narrado por meio de cartas. As cartas são escritas por Cachorrinho e destinadas para a sua mãe — e isso já inicia de uma forma incrível a profundidade do livro, pois, em uma tentativa desesperada de se aproximar de sua mãe, o filho escreve para ela em um idioma que ela não entende. Não há uma separação definida nas cartas, ou seja, o livro não segue uma estrutura em que cada capítulo é uma carta com início, meio e fim. Além disso, os acontecimentos não são narrados de modo linear, pois a conexão entre eles é temática e não cronológica. Claro, isso pode tornar o livro confuso para algumas pessoas, e com certeza significa que deve haver certo nível de concentração na leitura, mas vale a pena (e a maioria das coisas que valem a pena dão trabalho, na minha opinião).

Outra coisa que torna “Sobre a terra somos belos por um instante” tão interessante é algo que, sinceramente, já está evidente só pelo título: este livro é sobre viver. É sobre como, apesar de todos os sofrimentos, o ser humano ainda busca o que é belo. E, claro, há certos sofrimentos e certas marcas que são especialmente relevantes em certos grupos, e, consequentemente, são relevantes para certas famílias. Mas esse sofrimento não define ninguém, e isso é demonstrado pelo fato de que os personagens, apesar de tudo, querem estar vivos. Sim, querem sobreviver. Mas não é só isso. 

E, sinceramente, a forma que “Sobre a terra somos belos por um instante” aborda tais questões reflete o efeito que o livro tem. Eu me senti tão destruída depois de terminá-lo, mas tão cheia de esperança. E acho que é assim que Cachorrinho se sente, também. Nada vai apagar o sofrimento dele ou da família dele. Ele tem que viver com isso, mas, principalmente, ele tem que viver. Ser humano é isso, e é tão insignificante, tão patético, mas tão belo ser assim. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and War

elbent's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Absolutely phenomenal. Unlike anything I’ve ever read. Made me a better writer just by reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Cancer, Sexual content, Addiction, Death of parent, and Drug use

marena02's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Deportation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Vomit, Child abuse, Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Addiction, Medical content, Physical abuse, Animal death, Bullying, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Violence, Death of parent, and War