Reviews tagging 'Death'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

713 reviews

aksmith92's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.0

TBD

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Racism, Abortion, Child death, Violence, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, War, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Cancer, Addiction, Cursing, Physical abuse, Rape, Terminal illness, and Grief

Moderate: Car accident and Classism

Minor: Transphobia, Misogyny, and Sexism

Rape is not discussed as a rape, but it is assumed.

grace_madeleine's review against another edition

5.0

I feel like my heart has been viscerally scooped out of my body and replaced except it wasn’t replaced correctly like there’s a deep ache there after reading this like it’s touched parts of grief I never expected would be touched by a book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, War, Grief, Drug use, Homophobia, Violence, Death, Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Bullying

anajailer's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

this would have 5 starts if it wasn't for the fact that i felt the end was a bit rushed. i wanted to know

what happened after the deaths and although we got a glimpse of it, i would have liked more exploration

. however this book is beautifully written and made me want to write myself, it inspired the way i think and for that it deserves all the praise it gets

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Violence

brookiet1220's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

The writing is what stands out about this novel.  One of the most eloquent statements Little Dog makes in the novel is when about his family’s mother tongue is not a mother at all, it’s an orphan.  Besides war, this novel discusses themes of sexual identity, drug use, and domestic abuse.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and War

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

kimisaboss123's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Drug abuse

Moderate: Death, Grief, War, and Cancer

Minor: Homophobia, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Hate crime, and Gun violence

rachelfazio's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Racism, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Death, Homophobia, Addiction, and Drug use

golden_hanne's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: Addiction and Abortion

Minor: Cancer

jeddicat's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, War, Death, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Drug use

idk_indigo's review against another edition

emotional 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

2.0

I wanted to like this book, I really did. And some of it was incredible! I loved the unique formatting, a son's letter to his mother brought a very emotional approach to the writing, and also a perspective that is so interesting. Letters are very intimate, and that is definitely how the book presents, in emotion but also in what the letter-writer is choosing to share (especially with a mother). I also really loved the formatting, almost like a poem but in prose, and you can tell when you're reading that the author is skilled in poetry. So yes, I definitely think this book is all that people say it is: deep, emotional, tragic, and beautiful. 

That being said, I don't really think this is for me... it honestly felt a bit like trauma porn at times, which is probably an unfair thing of me to say because I understand that an entire facet of poetry is making tragedy beautiful (/s), but I found myself almost wanting to roll my eyes at times. Idk. Also, I know this is coming from the perspective of written correspondence, and that definitely changes how a person talks about themselves/their experiences/reality, but I genuinely just got very sick of the main character, Little Dog. And towards the end, the poetry-as-prose format got very old for me. There's not anything specifically wrong with it, per se, I just didn't like it. I think maybe it would've held up better if it was shorter, but I'm almost like there's a reason why poems are short. 

I may read something else from the author, maybe some of his poetry, because the content of this book was super interesting to me. I think I would have liked this better had I been in a different mood, but I am not, so... 2 stars. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, and Homophobia

Moderate: Addiction, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Death, and Drug abuse

Minor: Xenophobia, War, Racism, and Sexual assault

tessa52's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Homophobia, Dementia, Excrement, Racism, Car accident, Alcoholism, Addiction, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, Animal cruelty, and War