Review by solybugs - On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

solybugs 's review for:

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

4.5

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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

This book... God, this book, where do I even begin? It was an emotional and heartfelt rollercoaster, full of beautiful writing and thought-provoking metaphors. The author's poetry background comes to life in this novel, making every sentence packed with some kind of hidden message. This book does take some unexpected turns and strange offchutes in the narrative. While they were extremely important to the overall story and did make sense in the bigger picture, while reading them at the moment, it felt uncomfortable at times. But that shows the beauty of this story, that Ocean Vuong can take the darker sides of a topic (that might not even be related to the characters) and make them somehow significant to the overall story. This is a beautiful story, one I will reread to try to find more hidden meanings in Ocean's beautiful writing style. Easy 4.5/5 stars, -0.5 just because of the uncomfy parts (please read a full list of the trigger warnings before reading this book).

Content Warnings