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

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

Profoundly beautiful and achingly personal, Vuong's novel, written as a long letter to his mother, is so suffused with poetics that reading it feels like a mix between witnessing a personal history in rapid flashes and slow walking through a near forgotten dream. A story of immigration, a filial confession, a queer awakening, and a musing on loss, the reach of On Earth brushes themes familiar to much in literature, but its accomplishment is singular and piercing. While the country renews its love for poetry (riding back to us, as it did, on the hem of Amanda Gorman's coat), this reader hopes more find their way to this readable, recitable novel from another poet who puts himself and his mother under his own delicate but unflinching eye.