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

challenging dark inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

There's not much else to say other than this book is gorgeous. I haven't oscillated between laughter and intense sobbing so much in...a long time.
The horse story still cracks me up.
And man, this novel's so deeply queer, both thematically and structurally: I love how you can see the sheer craft at play in sculpting the narrative, yet it's never trite or obvious -- more something that you recognize when it comes up and admire intensely.
It is a very heavy read, though. If you're not in the right space for that, I'd save this for another time. But it's absolutely beautiful and worth the effort, in my opinion. This has easily become one of my favorite books!
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