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A review by dellydoos
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book felt like a vivid dream; fantastic and colorful, but unfocused and tortuous in parts. On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong is a highly praised debut novel that explores themes of identity, family, love, and trauma through the eyes of a young Vietnamese-American man named Little Dog. Written as a letter from Little Dog to his illiterate mother, who cannot read or understand the story her son is telling, the novel is a deeply personal and introspective exploration of the human experience.
While the writing is fantastic, brilliant, and lyrical, with highly complex and nuanced characters, I found the book's plot to be underwhelming. Yes, symbolism, stunning prose, and deeply flawed characters can be enough sometimes to pull me through a book, but the lack of a clear narrative thread left me feeling somewhat adrift. The book is filled with abstract vignettes that jump around in time and space, making it difficult to fully engage with the story. Although I appreciated the experimental approach, it just didn't hit strongly enough for me to enjoy beyond the technical skill.
Additionally, and in part this was my own fault for not checking content warnings, one aspect of the book that really caught me off guard was multiple instances of graphic animal cruelty and abuse. These scenes left me feeling really uncomfortable and disturbed, and I just wasn't prepared for how dark the book would be in this aspect. I’m rarely left uncomfortable by a lot of heavy content, but graphic and gratuitous animal cruelty is just where the line is for me.
So while, I can appreciate the technical skill and talent that went into creating this book, I just think it wasn’t for me. 3/5 stars.
While the writing is fantastic, brilliant, and lyrical, with highly complex and nuanced characters, I found the book's plot to be underwhelming. Yes, symbolism, stunning prose, and deeply flawed characters can be enough sometimes to pull me through a book, but the lack of a clear narrative thread left me feeling somewhat adrift. The book is filled with abstract vignettes that jump around in time and space, making it difficult to fully engage with the story. Although I appreciated the experimental approach, it just didn't hit strongly enough for me to enjoy beyond the technical skill.
Additionally, and in part this was my own fault for not checking content warnings, one aspect of the book that really caught me off guard was multiple instances of graphic animal cruelty and abuse. These scenes left me feeling really uncomfortable and disturbed, and I just wasn't prepared for how dark the book would be in this aspect. I’m rarely left uncomfortable by a lot of heavy content, but graphic and gratuitous animal cruelty is just where the line is for me.
So while, I can appreciate the technical skill and talent that went into creating this book, I just think it wasn’t for me. 3/5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death