On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

A Novel

by

hardcover, 256 pages

Published June 3, 2019 by Penguin Press.

ISBN:
978-0-525-56202-3
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(7 reviews)

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to our American moment, immersed as we are in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one’s own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being …

5 editions

reviewed On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

memories as strong as smells

A novel, a story, a lettter, a collection of memories like only smells are able to take you to them. On Earth We're Briefly Georgeous is able to even feel the smells described and remember things we've not lived. I don't remember who recommended me this book, but I thank them, wherever they are. The strange style of intermixing stories, conversations and exprriences through confusing at first captivated my curiosity in a wondeful way. Thanks Little Dog

reviewed On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Beauty despite violence

This novel by Ocean Vuong is told from a first-person narrative as an autobiographical story written to the protagonist's mother. But using this as a device, it tells multiple stories simultaneously. Each is almost a parable, and none is independent of another. It takes place in the USA primarily.

The protagonist relates his coming into the world, his childhood, his first love, his violent youth, his grandmother's love for him (and her past life in Vietnam), and his experiences of grief. Entangled are the acts of violence of the Vietnam War, the estrangement of the protagonist from his two nations, drug addiction and abuse, philosophy and thoughts on how words find meaning. The story alone is uncomplicated, and ticks along at a pleasant pace, but the poetic undertones and masterful weaving of story with concept make it a wonderful experience. To paraphrase Vuong's words: This book is not created …

reviewed On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Review of "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" on 'Goodreads'

An astonishing beautiful novel written by a poet, which takes the form of a fictional memoir, covering the main character’s gay coming-of-age story braided in with his mother’s and grandmother’s lives in Vietnam before and during the war, which is ultimately about what it means to be alive. It won’t be for everyone, but I loved it. One of the best books I’ve read in the past 5 years.

reviewed On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Review of "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" on 'Goodreads'

Hard to follow and I found the imagery a mess. I kept waiting for the next chapter to tie it all together but for me it never seemed to. Every second it third paragraph was compelling enough for me to keep reading but I have no desire to continue.
Rating it 3/5 for the couple of laughs and tearful moments I felt actually hit and the point of view of a PoC that I haven't experienced.

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