On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous: A Novel

Amazing book! The deeply personal story of a son and his single mother and their plight as immigrants. Raw and Honest. The author, Ocean Vuong, is an amazing storyteller who writes from his heart.

This was a great and quick read. In total it took me 5 hours to complete this book.This story is a story of an immigrant living and retelling the stories of the immigrants before him such as his mom and grandma.Beautifully written. Loved the portrayal of color. In the beginning of the book, the narrator describes colors to inanimate objects/feelings. As he grows older, other people begin to see him as his own skin color, hence they began to project their understanding of color on to him. Suddenly, color no longer describes an object/feeling but it becomes a weapon that divides people. Color becomes a tool that allows him to be put into a box before ever having the opportunity to give others a chance to know him. Color becomes his identity, as well as the identity of everyone around him. It’s also interesting how trauma affects not only those who lived through traumatic experiences, but also their children who will end up growing up with that trauma.The book has many themes including:• Race• Growing up as an American• Growing up with different cultural identities• Self Identity/Self Discovery• Generational Trauma• Inherited Trauma•Post war affects• Growing up bi racial• Complex parental relationships• Immigrants•Immigrants (due to war)•LGBTThings I disliked:Children having sex:Although the narrator is telling his story, and he is going back in time. I felt highly uncomfortable with the explicit scenes of minors having sex. There was no need to describe certain parts of the body as he did. Simply because of the fact that they were minors when this physical relationship happened. He could have easily mentioned how he felt instead of drawing explicit pictures for his audience.Neutral comment:Parts the story seemed messy, however I personally liked it and I understood it because that’s how my brain works. Making footnotes of footnotes. At the same time, it made sense for the story to be “messy” as he’s writing a letter to his mother. It’s not going to be neat. When you write a letter to your loved ones, many times you’re reminiscing about the old times, and so one memory will turn into another into another into another, and so it gives off the authentic vibes of a letter to someone close to you. You want them to remember the scene that you were at.As many have mentioned, this book isn’t for everyone.Overall, I rate this book 8.0279/10It’s a great book, easy to read, and it brought me out of my reading hiatus!

Love this guy. His use of words - original and powerful. Images that sear into your brain I am not a poetry follower as a rule.

This novel is deeply personal, written by an extremely sensitive man. I heard Vuong being interviewed by the NYT and I was so taken with his emotion that I wanted to read the book.Alas, this novel is not for me. Although its themes of war, immigration, coming of age, and death are very compelling and well written, there was graphic gay sex and many obscene words that, to my mind, do not make this book recommendable or to be lauded.Also, the storyline is not linear and with no division of different times and places, I was confused which made the book difficult to understand. Plus, the similes just don’t make sense although I realize that this narrative is more like poetry.Actually, the last 25 pages are the best.For the reasons listed above, I had to give this book only 3 stars.

One of the most beautiful books I have ever read. It is exquisitely written and deeply personal. I had to read it in small bits, taking my time to digest it---had I not, I think it might have done me in. Rarely has a book pierced my soul as this has.

This book is exquisite. The eb and flow of Oceans writing is deeply stirring and truly "gorgeous". Yes, he is a poet. Expresses like a poet, the world reverberates for him as with the greatest poets. His story is woven through this book in its semi-autobiographical form. It is intense. It is heartbreakingly painfully and also utterly beautiful. Like James Baldwin- a great soul and a one in a million writer. It is a true classic.

I was intrigued and found your books on Amazon. This book is very passionate, at times confusing but always as honest and humble as the author can be. I prize honesty and humility as much as I do integrity. I gained a little more understanding of Vietnamese culture. A little.