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wetdirtreads's review against another edition
- 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
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)
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
- 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
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.
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
minnie_xx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Drug use, Dementia, Cursing, Alcohol, Addiction, Abandonment, Death, Genocide, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Bullying, and Alcoholism
eve_o'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? It's complicated
5.0
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
violetends's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, Addiction, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
lostboylio'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? It's complicated
5.0
truly heartbreaking and amazingly beautiful!
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
laurenkimoto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I also don’t annotate books but I want a physical copy of this book to annotate because there are so many wonderful lines and quotes and more
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Cancer, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Vomit, Abandonment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Animal death
moonbebe722's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, War, Addiction, Drug use, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Abandonment, Cancer, Colonisation, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Xenophobia
Minor: Excrement
margozaldivar'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
3.75
Graphic: War, Abandonment, Transphobia, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use
yeuniversse'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
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Addiction, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, War, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use