Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

26 reviews

raelong12's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Animal death, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Car accident, Classism, Addiction, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug use, Racism, Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and War

wetdirtreads'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? Yes

5.0

This book absolutely lives up to the hype it’s received. And then some. It is so so so beautiful. It is also, however, truly harrowing. From start to finish.
 
It’s not (for me, at least) one of those books where you sob uncontrollably all the way through it. I cried a bit at one point. But it mostly just left me feeling completely hollow. Like a trauma response – a dissociated ‘freeze’ state. The book doesn’t offer a release from this emotional purgatory – which I assume is very intentional. To provide any relief would be disingenuous, because the pain this book articulates is still so raw, so real, so relevant. 
 
Vuong doesn’t try to offer the reader insights into Little Dog’s experience – little morsels of wisdom – like you’re watching him through a window or on a TV screen. He brings you right into it. Right into Little Dog’s remembering; his pleasure & his pain. You don’t get to just consume his story as a fun lil trauma porn fix and then walk away from it unscathed. It sticks with you. Like Gorilla Glue, that super heavy-duty stuff that’s a real bitch to get off.
 
If discomfort and tension are not things you look for in a read, then this book probably isn’t for you. However, even if you do enjoy those things, I would still highly recommend emotionally preparing yourself before reading it. I’d also recommend following it with something light-hearted and fun. Otherwise, you will just feel pain. Indefinitely. 
 
My personal storytelling practice usually seeks to destabilise comfort, not reinforce it. I often write in the hopes that people will walk away with questions, with a renewed awareness of the messy, unresolvable, undefinable nature of the world – not answers, conclusions or relief. This book does all of that. Times a thousand. And I feel honoured to have been hurt by it.

(Review originally posted on Instagram)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, Racism, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Death, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Violence, and War

Moderate: Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Excrement, Bullying, Abandonment, and Homophobia

Minor: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Adult/minor relationship, and Car accident

novella42's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

I can still hear Vuong's gentle, relentless voice when I read quotes or pages from the hardcopy I finally picked up. Sometimes I read a little to remind the writer part of my brain how lyrical words work, and what kind of writer I want to be.

His author-read audiobook performance of this powerful book was nothing short of magnificent. 

A queer Vietnamese American man writes a letter to his mother, a survivor of the Vietnam War, who cannot read. His love for her, and hers for him, is ferocious and beautiful beyond words. Vuong is a poet, but strangely, I find his novel more compelling than his poetry. Tons of content warnings, to the degree I don't know when I will ever feel mentally resilient enough in my own C-PTSD to re-read it in its entirety, but if you're in the mood for a good cry, I can't think of anything more cathartic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Chronic illness, Blood, Homophobia, Car accident, Misogyny, War, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Self harm, Addiction, Sexual content, Animal death, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Cancer, Abortion, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Excrement, Cursing, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Gore, Pregnancy, Dementia, Suicide, Sexual assault, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Child death, Rape, Abandonment, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Deportation, Body horror, Sexism, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Torture, Cannibalism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Adult/minor relationship, War, Confinement, Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, and Murder

krystaltyong's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? 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: Death, Grief, War, Child abuse, Abortion, Drug abuse, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Dementia, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Bullying, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic relationship

Minor: Blood, Vomit, Ableism, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content

eve_o's review

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Drug abuse, Grief, Addiction, Sexual content, Racism, Alcohol, Animal death, Death, Homophobia, and Mental illness

Moderate: Drug use, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Confinement

Minor: Car accident and Excrement

lostboylio's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

nothing i could ever say in this review would sound nearly as good as anything written in this book.
truly heartbreaking and amazingly beautiful! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Sexual content, and War

Moderate: Abortion, Drug use, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cursing, Abandonment, Homophobia, Mental illness, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Chronic illness, Bullying, Death, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Gun violence, and Hate crime

hannahlouise_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

probably one of the best books i have ever read. i vigorously annotated every page, every word felt dripping with emotion and the weight of memory and remembering.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Car accident, Chronic illness, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Abortion, Gun violence, Violence, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Mental illness, and Gore

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

yolie'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

4.25

This book needs you to take your time. Although the novel appears slim it is quite dense in terms of the content and Vuong’s prose. Some chapters read more like short stories and long form poetry than a linear account. The book has moments of absolute hopelessness, you’re shattered by Little Dog’s accounts of growing up an Asian immigrant in America, gay and poor. His one-sided and ill-fated relationship with Trevor makes me cautious (and sad) to say he is Little Dog's 'first love'. So much of their relationship is marred by Trevor's homophobia and recklessness. 

I wish less time was spent on that relationship and more weight was given to the other significant relationships in his life and the milestones he achieves in his adulthood. 

But there’s beauty in it too - a nod to the book’s title. Vuong/ Little Dog is able to hold so much compassion for people, he chooses to see them in their gorgeousness - irrespective of the brevity of that moment.  Long after the novel is over you’ll keep coming back to certain phrases, marvelling at how stunning and lyrical Vuong’s writing is.

One of my favourite passages from the book reads:
“Because the sunset, like survival, exists only on the verge of its own disappearing. To be gorgeous, you must first be seen, but to be seen allows you to be hunted.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, War, Colonisation, Death, Dementia, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, and Homophobia

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Car accident, Vomit, Abortion, Cursing, and Violence

Minor: Biphobia, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing

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