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A review by buffy87
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This is not a casual read that you can just blow through. This is a book that you tear chunks from, chew on, break it down, let it sit then swallow it.
I think this book is for someone who wants to take the time to make the connections, analyze the structure and writing. If you're not that personality then this novel might just piss you off and come off obnoxious.
Spoilers ahead.
I find it hard to rate this book as well. It is complex on purpose. As if it is meant to be inaccessible. I think that's where you start to get into pretentious/obnoxious vibes that other readers have mentioned. There's a lot of recurring themes and motifs, tied in with extended metaphors. The table metaphor at the end I'm still struggling to really understand. Part of me is defaulting to that's lame, but another part is thinking it's probably beyond me.
I'm most confused why the gritty sexual details needed to be included in a letter to his mother. It didn't seem to fit the relationship that he was building throughout. And in fact, there was a middle section where it was mostly focused on Trevor which felt out of focus for the book. There was a lot of content shoved in the story and I feel like it overcomplicated something that didn't need to be. However, I think the point is that by writing to his mom about the things he loves (Lan, her, Trevor, writing, Hartford) they are all acts of honour because he loves her. Writing about love to someone you love, demonstrates how deep the love you have is. I'd say the scene where they confess parts of themselves to each other is what this whole book is.
What's interesting is I feel like the reader is deprioritized in this book. We don't really matter. Whether we get it or not doesn't matter. We're just voyeurs - and it really felt like weird trauma porn voyeurism. This book that is apparently a letter to his mom, where he lays out all the shitty things that have happened to his grandmother, mother, Trevor, and himself and somehow it has to do with love.
There's a small part of me that is judging the content as quite exploitative.
All that aside? There is no doubt that Ocean can write. He can WRITE. There were a lot of lines I highlighted in my mind that really made me think. I thoroughly enjoyed the actual words and way the sentences were built.
I think this book is for someone who wants to take the time to make the connections, analyze the structure and writing. If you're not that personality then this novel might just piss you off and come off obnoxious.
Spoilers ahead.
I find it hard to rate this book as well. It is complex on purpose. As if it is meant to be inaccessible. I think that's where you start to get into pretentious/obnoxious vibes that other readers have mentioned. There's a lot of recurring themes and motifs, tied in with extended metaphors. The table metaphor at the end I'm still struggling to really understand. Part of me is defaulting to that's lame, but another part is thinking it's probably beyond me.
I'm most confused why the gritty sexual details needed to be included in a letter to his mother. It didn't seem to fit the relationship that he was building throughout. And in fact, there was a middle section where it was mostly focused on Trevor which felt out of focus for the book. There was a lot of content shoved in the story and I feel like it overcomplicated something that didn't need to be. However, I think the point is that by writing to his mom about the things he loves (Lan, her, Trevor, writing, Hartford) they are all acts of honour because he loves her. Writing about love to someone you love, demonstrates how deep the love you have is. I'd say the scene where they confess parts of themselves to each other is what this whole book is.
What's interesting is I feel like the reader is deprioritized in this book. We don't really matter. Whether we get it or not doesn't matter. We're just voyeurs - and it really felt like weird trauma porn voyeurism. This book that is apparently a letter to his mom, where he lays out all the shitty things that have happened to his grandmother, mother, Trevor, and himself and somehow it has to do with love.
There's a small part of me that is judging the content as quite exploitative.
All that aside? There is no doubt that Ocean can write. He can WRITE. There were a lot of lines I highlighted in my mind that really made me think. I thoroughly enjoyed the actual words and way the sentences were built.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and War