Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

38 reviews

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

marena02's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Deportation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Vomit, Child abuse, Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Addiction, Medical content, Physical abuse, Animal death, Bullying, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Violence, Death of parent, and War

frostjem's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

Incredible writing and an incredible concept of writing to his mother who cannot read it. Some difficult and challenging themes meant I often had to take breaks reading this. Vuong has a way of describing deep, difficult and strong emotions in such a beautiful way. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

amandamuchmoreparker's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, War, and Violence

livbreading's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault

brennasjohnson'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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Domestic abuse

tararising's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, and Sexual assault

mxajlikesbooks's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Addiction, Cancer, Homophobia, Violence, War, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

jarif_hasan's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Hear me out....! it's a really good book, this write is god gifted. The only thing I didn't like that much is LGBTQIA. Yes I no it's his own life story and I really didn't have any problem with writer . The thing is I don't support LGBTQIA but that doesn't mean I hate them. But yeah don't hesitate after seeing my review and highly recommend to read this book it will be really good thing to consume 🙂✨

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

booksndboba's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Animal cruelty, Death, Racism, Sexual assault, and War

Moderate: Drug use, Addiction, Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia