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A review by lostinpaperbacks
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Now.. it is NO surprise this author is a natural poet because oh my god. this is beautiful and I loved the writing style. If you love lyrical writing then you will take this book in every crevice of your body as I did.
I found it difficult to believe this was fiction. There is something about Little Dog's story, a certain raw honesty and earnestness, that seems to come from a place of truth. Maybe because much of it does. The author draws on recent and historical events, stories of well-known figures, artists and tragedies to weave his fictional story with every inch of our reality I give this four stars instead of five mostly because I feel like the romance weighed this book down in a way. NOW HERE ME OUT I just didn’t really feel like Little Dog’s relationship with Trevor contributed much to the book? Like, I appreciate the exploration of queerness in the context of being Asian American and within the context of an immigrant family. I also liked how Vuong wrote gay sex in a way that felt realistic in its messiness instead of doing what a lot of people – especially heterosexual women who write gay sex – do by glossing over its complexities and portraying it as seamlessly hot. But I didn’t really get much from Trevor and Little Dog together aside Little Dog dating a white boy with toxic masculinity issues. I wish there had been more interrogation of the power dynamics involved with dating a white person or even being intimate in any way with a white person when you have a marginalized racial/ethnic identity. THIS WAS SUCH A CLOSE 5 STAR
I found it difficult to believe this was fiction. There is something about Little Dog's story, a certain raw honesty and earnestness, that seems to come from a place of truth. Maybe because much of it does. The author draws on recent and historical events, stories of well-known figures, artists and tragedies to weave his fictional story with every inch of our reality I give this four stars instead of five mostly because I feel like the romance weighed this book down in a way. NOW HERE ME OUT I just didn’t really feel like Little Dog’s relationship with Trevor contributed much to the book? Like, I appreciate the exploration of queerness in the context of being Asian American and within the context of an immigrant family. I also liked how Vuong wrote gay sex in a way that felt realistic in its messiness instead of doing what a lot of people – especially heterosexual women who write gay sex – do by glossing over its complexities and portraying it as seamlessly hot. But I didn’t really get much from Trevor and Little Dog together aside Little Dog dating a white boy with toxic masculinity issues. I wish there had been more interrogation of the power dynamics involved with dating a white person or even being intimate in any way with a white person when you have a marginalized racial/ethnic identity. THIS WAS SUCH A CLOSE 5 STAR
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Homophobia