A review by kaitisbooknook
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • 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

Told in epistolary form, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from the narrator, known only as “Little Dog,” to his mother who is unable to read. Because he knows his mother will never be able to actually understand his words, Little Dog opens up to her about events in his life he might not otherwise have, including his own abuse as a child at her hands, coming to understand he was gay, his first sexual experiences, and experimentation with drugs.
I was not only drawn to the honesty with which the narrator recounts his childhood, likely crossing boundaries into auto fiction as key details overlap with the author’s own life (his mother’s name, his own experience as a Vietnamese immigrant, etc.), but also the narrative style he chooses to tell it in. We are taken through Little Dog’s childhood in mostly chronological order, but the narrative is spliced with anecdotes from his mother’s and grandmother’s lives in Vietnam, as well as interruptions of poetry that seem to be when the reader gets the most sense  of understanding of the writer’s emotional landscape. 
This novel is not only an excellent and deeply emotional account of the immigrant experience in the United States and unique queer representation. The author also gives us a close look at the every day lives torn apart by the opioid epidemic. Throughout all this, it’s also a lovely and beautiful coming of age story at its heart.  
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