Scan barcode
A review by aliciae08
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
This was one of those books that I’d always heard great things about, and although I agree that Ocean Vuong’s writting was beautiful. He can draw you in and make you feel thing that are all at once love, hate, annoyance and understanding. What a gift.
At the same time I felt really complicated feelings around Little Dog, his relationship to his family, his relationship to Trevor and his relationship with himself. There were times I was confused as Vuong brought us back to the past and forward to the present with no story fully complete. However, if this is a letter to L.D.’s mother, then she’d know some of the stories so they wouldn’t need to be fully complete. It was still sometimes a little frustrating.
At the same time I felt really complicated feelings around Little Dog, his relationship to his family, his relationship to Trevor and his relationship with himself. There were times I was confused as Vuong brought us back to the past and forward to the present with no story fully complete. However, if this is a letter to L.D.’s mother, then she’d know some of the stories so they wouldn’t need to be fully complete. It was still sometimes a little frustrating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Grief, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Excrement, Abortion, and Abandonment