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A review by niallgoulding1
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is a hard book to describe. Wholly unique for better and worse.
The writing is beautiful. Every page has at least one sentence that will make you pause. It's an interesting contrast to see such beautiful prose applied to such unremittingly grim subject matter.
There isn't a plot as such. We get snippets of the grandma doing whatever she needed to do to survive the Vietnam war. Then we glimpse moments of post-war struggle before a move to the US, which turns out to be less promised land and more a different form of hell. Very effective in describing "left behind" America. You see a society where life seems to have lost all joy and been reduced to a grind to survive. Poverty, substance abuse and trauma mingle; passing from generation to generation. But all of this is delivered in a fragmented style. One minute you're in a trailer watching an American dad drink himself to death in the early 00s, then a sentence later you're in Vietnam at some point in time. Its definitely confusing and I'm not sure the novel benefits from this. An even slightly more structured approach would've helped a lot.
The writer is clearly trying to process a lot of contradictory feelings and lots of interesting ideas comes out of that. What to feel for a mother who loves him but whose own issues prevent her being a supportive presence. A country that has left his community to die on mass from opoids and always reminds him of his "otherness" but one which gave the son of poor immigrants the opportunity to become a renowned poet. A first love that is both touching and harmful - sabotaged by self-hatred and unforgiving circumstances.
Ultimately a novel about people's inability to communicate and process trauma. Not perfect but powerful.
"I'm sorry I keep saying - how are you? when I mean are you happy?"
"They will want you to succeed, but never more than them. They will write their names on your leash and call you necessary"
The writing is beautiful. Every page has at least one sentence that will make you pause. It's an interesting contrast to see such beautiful prose applied to such unremittingly grim subject matter.
There isn't a plot as such. We get snippets of the grandma doing whatever she needed to do to survive the Vietnam war. Then we glimpse moments of post-war struggle before a move to the US, which turns out to be less promised land and more a different form of hell. Very effective in describing "left behind" America. You see a society where life seems to have lost all joy and been reduced to a grind to survive. Poverty, substance abuse and trauma mingle; passing from generation to generation. But all of this is delivered in a fragmented style. One minute you're in a trailer watching an American dad drink himself to death in the early 00s, then a sentence later you're in Vietnam at some point in time. Its definitely confusing and I'm not sure the novel benefits from this. An even slightly more structured approach would've helped a lot.
The writer is clearly trying to process a lot of contradictory feelings and lots of interesting ideas comes out of that. What to feel for a mother who loves him but whose own issues prevent her being a supportive presence. A country that has left his community to die on mass from opoids and always reminds him of his "otherness" but one which gave the son of poor immigrants the opportunity to become a renowned poet. A first love that is both touching and harmful - sabotaged by self-hatred and unforgiving circumstances.
Ultimately a novel about people's inability to communicate and process trauma. Not perfect but powerful.
"I'm sorry I keep saying - how are you? when I mean are you happy?"
"They will want you to succeed, but never more than them. They will write their names on your leash and call you necessary"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Sexual content