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A review by translove
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
wow. the first time I read this book, it wrecked me. the second time, it wrecked me even more.
it's so raw and beautiful in its realness. it makes me think and feel. I think about love and family; war and my whiteness; language and connections; life, in general. I feel devastated and seen. I feel like the only thing holding me together is a flimsy belief that I didn't lose too much, but it's such a frail thing, this belief, that it crumbles between my fingers like the sand castles I built and then tore down when I was little. this novel feels like a punch in the gut and at the same time the air moving back into my lungs afterwards. it hurts and heals and that is the kind of art I always crave. thank you, Ocean Vuong.
it's so raw and beautiful in its realness. it makes me think and feel. I think about love and family; war and my whiteness; language and connections; life, in general. I feel devastated and seen. I feel like the only thing holding me together is a flimsy belief that I didn't lose too much, but it's such a frail thing, this belief, that it crumbles between my fingers like the sand castles I built and then tore down when I was little. this novel feels like a punch in the gut and at the same time the air moving back into my lungs afterwards. it hurts and heals and that is the kind of art I always crave. thank you, Ocean Vuong.
"Days I feel like a human being, while other days I feel more like a sound. I touch the world not as myself but as an echo of who I was. Can you hear me yet? Can you read me?"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Racism, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Homophobia, and Hate crime
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, and Domestic abuse