Scan barcode
alondere's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent, War, Child abuse, and Colonisation
Moderate: Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Homophobia
lostinafilmscene's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Addiction and Gore
Moderate: Homophobia, Abortion, and Xenophobia
Minor: Racial slurs
siebensommer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5
what is a country but a life sentence?
Graphic: Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Violence, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Drug use, Homophobia, Addiction, Death, and Physical abuse
Moderate: War, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Medical content
fkshg8465's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Homophobia, Racism, War, Abortion, Cancer, and Addiction
elliotlea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Xenophobia, War, Homophobia, Classism, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Racism, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Cursing, and Child abuse
mahaofhyrule's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The narrative is told through the POV of Little Dog, who is a Vietnamese immigrant boy writing a letter to his illiterate mother, who is suffering from trauma from the Vietnam War. On this premise alone, I was intrigued to get right into this story.
Let me start off by saying that Ocean Vuong is a great writer. His prose is definitely one of the stronger aspects of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous which of course is a given since he is a poet after all! There were a number of quotes I marked with sticky notes while I was reading because I had a feeling they would stick me for a long time, and I truly felt like I was present in some scenes described throughout the novel.
I was pretty hooked during the beginning, however, I started to feel more disengaged towards the middle of the book. I personally don't really read poetry that much (rarely, in fact), so I think I just felt disconnected from the writing style and it made me realize I'm probably not Vuong's target audience. I could not engage with the flowery language and I felt like because I'm not a poetry reader that a lot of the "beauty" of this work went completely over my head.
This story is supposed to be a letter, and Little Dog recaps various events at different stages of his life, and here's where I experience another issue: the events are completely scattered. What I mean by that is that one moment, he's describing a time when he was a child following another boy on the playground, and then after, he's describing another moment where he's with his dying grandmother (it wasn't these two specific moments, but hopefully you get the point). Anyway, because of how these events were framed, it not only confused me often and took me out of the story, but also ruined some tension of otherwise very emotional moments.
I'm not sure what else to say here. I feel like this caters to a very specific reader and unfortunately that reader is not me.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Racism, Sexual content, Racial slurs, and Homophobia
Moderate: War, Bullying, and Child abuse
Minor: Death and Cancer
carolinacortez's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
"what I left behind becomes exactly what I'm running toward -- like I'm part of a family."
Tengo que ser honesta, es un libro complicado de leer, no es una lectura que se lea en una sentada (aunque es cortito), es prácticamente poesía en forma de novela, entonces mi recomendación sería que se lea despacito, disfrutando cada palabra de Ocean.
"The wound is also the place where the skin reencounters itself, asking of each end, where have you been?
Where have we been, Ma?"
Cada párrafo, cada capítulo, cada oración, son hermosos, yo no podía dejar de decir 'no puede ser' de lo bello que está escrito y se ve el amor que hay detrás de cada palabra, que pensó la mejor manera de mostrar una parte de la vida de mucha gente.
"Ma. You once told me that memory is a choice. Buy if you were god, you know it's a flood."
En cuanto a las relaciones (tanto con su mamá, abuela, como con Trevor) están súper marcadas las diferencias, como la personalidad de little dog se moldaba según con quién estaba, según lo que la otra persona necesitará de el (muy mirrorball de su parte)
"You once told me that the human eye is god's loneliest creation. How so much of the world passes through the pupil and still it holds nothing"
En resumen es una novela preciosísima, solo hay que tener en cuenta que requiere su tiempo para digerirla bien.
Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use
Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Racial slurs, Medical content, Mental illness, Addiction, Blood, Cancer, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Drug use
Minor: Abortion and Death
peggymay's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Death, Mental illness, Cancer, Abortion, Xenophobia, Bullying, Drug use, War, Child abuse, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Racism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug abuse, Racism, Death, Drug use, Child abuse, Homophobia, War, Domestic abuse, and Addiction
Minor: Domestic abuse, Abortion, Car accident, Bullying, Racism, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Transphobia, Animal cruelty, Vomit, Animal death, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug use, Grief, Racial slurs, Homophobia, War, Cancer, Excrement, Addiction, Child abuse, and Blood
yummosocks's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Animal death, Genocide, Grief, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, War, Racism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Medical content, Cancer, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Bullying
Minor: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, and Racial slurs
ieotter13's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Classism, Death, Child death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Sexism