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A review by literarypenguin
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ocean Vuong's literary background in poetry certainly shines through in On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous! Even though he claims that this books is more fiction than autobiography, you can't help but make the connections between the main character and the author. You can see little glimpses of his life possibly referencing moments in Ocean's life as a Vietnamese immigrant in America.
The writing is beautiful, raw, and enchanting as the story is told as a letter being sent by the son to his illiterate often distant mother. The young man recounts moments in his youth, from the close bond he formed with his grandmother who suffered from mental illness, to his first love with another boy, to him realizing his identity and where he fit in this new country his mother and him now called home. It brought forth the experiences of an immigrant trying to navigate in a country that has people who don't want people like them or have systems that are made to work against them trying to make life harder for them. His mother had to work hard with very little pay and a fifth grade education after her schoolhouse was bombed during the war. How the young man had to face racism from other children and homophobia when he came to understand his sexuality.
The first half of the novel read like a series of poems and really sounded like a son writing a letter to his mother. As the book went on it did lose some of the poetry aspect but it was still so beautiful and haunting at times. This book was a great read and I was surprised by how wonderful this book was. I very much enjoyed this book and am interested in reading more of Ocean Vuong's works!
The writing is beautiful, raw, and enchanting as the story is told as a letter being sent by the son to his illiterate often distant mother. The young man recounts moments in his youth, from the close bond he formed with his grandmother who suffered from mental illness, to his first love with another boy, to him realizing his identity and where he fit in this new country his mother and him now called home. It brought forth the experiences of an immigrant trying to navigate in a country that has people who don't want people like them or have systems that are made to work against them trying to make life harder for them. His mother had to work hard with very little pay and a fifth grade education after her schoolhouse was bombed during the war. How the young man had to face racism from other children and homophobia when he came to understand his sexuality.
The first half of the novel read like a series of poems and really sounded like a son writing a letter to his mother. As the book went on it did lose some of the poetry aspect but it was still so beautiful and haunting at times. This book was a great read and I was surprised by how wonderful this book was. I very much enjoyed this book and am interested in reading more of Ocean Vuong's works!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Drug abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Homophobia