Scan barcode
A review by justinlife
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
This is a gorgeous novel with some of the best prose one could read. Poets have a great way with words and Vuong makes sentences that are art.
In this novel, a man is writing a letter to his illiterate mother basically confessing his life. He describes how being a child of immigrants, his skin color, his sexuality all made him who he is. He discusses the bullying he received as a kid and the abuse his mom gave him. He discusses how the Vietnam war still lingers in his family and the personal effects of that war.
The format works for what it is. It felt like a memoir. The trauma felt real and not fetishized. It felt lived in instead of placed upon. This is the sad girl summer novel I was wanting. There were moments that it made me think this might have been inspired by Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts b/c of the format of the novel and mixture of life and death. It felt stream of consciousness to me.
My only issue with the novel was that there didn't seem much plot. I didn't pick up on why he was confessing all of this. While beautiful I wondered if this was a memoir instead of fiction. I wanted more of story instead of stories within a letter to a person who won't read it.
I did like the idea though. Here's this person who needs to say what they need to say in a way his mother probably won't ever read. There's something cathartic about letting it all out.
In this novel, a man is writing a letter to his illiterate mother basically confessing his life. He describes how being a child of immigrants, his skin color, his sexuality all made him who he is. He discusses the bullying he received as a kid and the abuse his mom gave him. He discusses how the Vietnam war still lingers in his family and the personal effects of that war.
The format works for what it is. It felt like a memoir. The trauma felt real and not fetishized. It felt lived in instead of placed upon. This is the sad girl summer novel I was wanting. There were moments that it made me think this might have been inspired by Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts b/c of the format of the novel and mixture of life and death. It felt stream of consciousness to me.
My only issue with the novel was that there didn't seem much plot. I didn't pick up on why he was confessing all of this. While beautiful I wondered if this was a memoir instead of fiction. I wanted more of story instead of stories within a letter to a person who won't read it.
I did like the idea though. Here's this person who needs to say what they need to say in a way his mother probably won't ever read. There's something cathartic about letting it all out.