Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

14 reviews

pastlifetragedy's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Animal death, Death of parent, Abortion, Death, Drug use, Addiction, Cursing, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Colonisation, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Confinement, Classism, Excrement, Dementia, Cancer, Blood, and Vomit

mmwiseheart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

3.5

I had mixed feelings about this one. I struggle to read books that are stream of consciousness or jump back and forth through time, so I had to take it slowly. There was a lot of sadness on this book, but it also had some hope. I did find a lot that really resonates with me. It covers a variety of topics, physical abuse, drug addiction, family dynamics, Vietnamese culture, trauma, grief, just to name some of them. Because if this, I think anyone can find something in it that they can identify with and take some meaning from it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, War, Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Classism, Child abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, and Racism

Minor: Abandonment, Blood, Alcoholism, Car accident, Excrement, Hate crime, Confinement, and Death of parent

adawada's review

challenging dark 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal death, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, and War

Moderate: Abandonment, Racism, Confinement, Racial slurs, Cursing, Addiction, Blood, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

wetdirtreads's review

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 against another edition

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 against another edition

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

lucinotlucy'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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Car accident, Confinement, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Terminal illness

alyssadavis's review

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

3.5

The children, the veal, they stand very still because tenderness depends on
how little the world touches you. To stay tender, the weight of your
life cannot lean on your bones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content

Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Animal death, Bullying, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, War, and Xenophobia

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

internationalreads's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, War, Xenophobia, and Racism