mmwiseheart 's review for:

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

3.5

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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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, Violence

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

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