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A review by martapsalvado
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I'm... very disappointed. This book was on my tbr for so long and I thought it was going to be emotional, sad, beautifully written and a just a little challenging to read because of the poetic writing and the fact that english is not my first language.
Well, it was definitely sad and indeed challenging to read, but the beauty of the writing, while it was there, seemed forced. As for the emotions, it didn't really give me many.
Vuong writes in a very lyrical way, and while that is not necessarily a bad thing, I thought it was too much more often that not. Some metaphors, comparisons and substituions of one perfectly suitable word or expression for a more "poetic" one were totally unnecessary. On other note, some descriptions were so unnecessarily graphic, almost forcefully graphic (which reminds me to warn potential readers to check the trigger warnings).
Also, I found myself infinitely waiting for the plot to develop, the characters to develop and... it just never happened (?) The characters lacked depth, at least from my point of view.
The good:
• The cover is gorgeous;
• The title is stunning;
• I liked the idea of writing a story in the form of a letter to the main character's mother (with the twist that the mother can't read);
• The writing was indeed beautiful in some parts;
• It covered some really relevant topics.
Well, it was definitely sad and indeed challenging to read, but the beauty of the writing, while it was there, seemed forced. As for the emotions, it didn't really give me many.
Vuong writes in a very lyrical way, and while that is not necessarily a bad thing, I thought it was too much more often that not. Some metaphors, comparisons and substituions of one perfectly suitable word or expression for a more "poetic" one were totally unnecessary. On other note, some descriptions were so unnecessarily graphic, almost forcefully graphic (which reminds me to warn potential readers to check the trigger warnings).
Also, I found myself infinitely waiting for the plot to develop, the characters to develop and... it just never happened (?) The characters lacked depth, at least from my point of view.
The good:
• The cover is gorgeous;
• The title is stunning;
• I liked the idea of writing a story in the form of a letter to the main character's mother (with the twist that the mother can't read);
• The writing was indeed beautiful in some parts;
• It covered some really relevant topics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Addiction, Cancer, Death, Dementia, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, War, Blood, Bullying, and Physical abuse
Minor: Car accident and Medical content