Reviews tagging 'Torture'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

6 reviews

violetbentbackwards1036's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Addiction, Hate crime, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Gore, Abandonment, Abortion, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, War, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Racism, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

muravyevaa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is a great book, however, the reason I didn’t give it 5 stars has nothing to do with the book but me – books that are a bit too poetic is not exactly my cup of tea. That being said, it is a beautiful yet dark read. Would definitely recommend to anyone who is not bothered by the style

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, War, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Death, Racism, Racial slurs, Animal death, Medical content, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Torture, Violence, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Terminal illness

miller8d's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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

4.0

I read this book a few months ago, so it isn’t super fresh in my mind, but my memory of it entails gorgeous poetic language, brilliantly detailed storytelling, and incredible nonfictional world-building.
Note: I vaguely pictured Edvin Ryding as Trevor.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Homophobia, Violence, Car accident, Grief, Torture, War, Death, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Physical abuse, and Animal death

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

ashleycmms's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? 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: War, Abortion, Addiction, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Cancer, Bullying, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Drug use

Moderate: Confinement

Ocean writing is fantastic, and I can’t believe I have taken this long to read some of their work. The way the story unfolds tells a beautiful story of tragedy and tenderness in the world. Out of this world.

ocean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Car accident, Death, Sexism, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Alcoholism, Addiction, Abortion, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Excrement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Grief, Confinement, Medical content, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse