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allyg3's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
ldecka1's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
2.0
radiohex's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
radiohex's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
hanaairfan's review against another edition
5.0
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a book that needs to be read multiple times to fully understand it. Written like poetry, the novel is dense with metaphors and symbolism that often escaped me. Its certainly not a fast or happy book, but it is disturbing in the sense that it interrupts your day with shameless honesty.
At many points I found it very difficult to believe the novel is a work of fiction. So many moments felt so naked and bare that it only made sense that Vuong has to be speaking from personal experience.
Despite the book not being my normal choice in reading, I found it to be beautiful. No one can deny that Vuong is a beautiful writer, but the story was also incredibly beautiful. It tackled the complexities of war, suffering, loss, masculinity, and motherhood without any sense of essentialization. I could see how this book isn't for everyone, but I think Ocean Vuong gave a voice to stories we never hear about it which is much more important than writing a book for everyone to enjoy.
At many points I found it very difficult to believe the novel is a work of fiction. So many moments felt so naked and bare that it only made sense that Vuong has to be speaking from personal experience.
Despite the book not being my normal choice in reading, I found it to be beautiful. No one can deny that Vuong is a beautiful writer, but the story was also incredibly beautiful. It tackled the complexities of war, suffering, loss, masculinity, and motherhood without any sense of essentialization. I could see how this book isn't for everyone, but I think Ocean Vuong gave a voice to stories we never hear about it which is much more important than writing a book for everyone to enjoy.
hbermudes's review against another edition
4.0
This is an undeniably beautiful book. The language is intimate, urgent, emotional, so many things. Vuong writes reflectively about his family's history and his own history in such an honest way. On a sentence level, what Vuong does with words and story is really interesting. The images he uses are interwoven throughout the entire novel in subtle reference and call backs that create a mosaic-like effect of understanding. Easy to miss, but when you notice this among everything else he manages to do with words it is... ? the shit. what a great writer. wow. Definitely worth the read- it's a short book either way. That being said, the narrative structure of the books isn't really there. Don't read if you find you need a strong story structure or even a plot line to get through a book. To me, this almost reads like a poetry collection.
potatochips_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.75
marleyrollins's review against another edition
4.0
The writing of this is beautiful, but there just wasn’t enough plot for me, and sometimes it felt like the writing tipped over into pretentious-what-does-that-even-mean.