Review by reabetswe_monaledi - On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

reabetswe_monaledi 's review for:

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

5.0

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

a book so generous in emotion, an unremitting rawness. for years, ocean vuong has been on my tbr, but i’ve always found reading a book when my heart feels ready to receive it in its entirety to be more rewarding than the rush to keep up with all the ratings and reviews. to finally get around to on earth we’re briefly beautiful has made it all the more rewarding.

vuong tells this story in the format of a letter from a son to his mother, who cannot read. the narrator is so earnest in his all-consuming want to be understood, with the self-awareness to know that this is a futile pursuit. his mother may never receive his letter, and even if she does, she is not equipped to read it. in this exposing of himself, this overanalyse, overthought, aching ramble, i see a boy trying to come to terms with his own existence. that in remembering, he might arrive at a better understanding of how his pieces connect.

“i want to insist that our being alive is beautiful enough to be worthy of replication. and so what? so what if all i ever made of my life was more of it?”

reading this felt like waiting for doomsday. each next word, paragraph, page, a newly developed crack in what was a slow heartbreak. it was running towards a cliff edge, and bracing for that sharp plunge into deadly water, only to realise you’re still running, always on the verge.

“a story, after all, is a kind of swallowing.”

a book well worth rereading.

Content Warnings