On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
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 heard.
With stunning urgency and grace, Ocean Vuong writes of people caught between disparate worlds, and asks how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are. The question of how to survive, and how to make of it a kind of joy, powers the most important debut novel of many years.
For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 Diversity Reading Challenge
2024 Audiobook Challenge
2024 Library Love Challenge
The Reason
This was my bookclub’s Book of the Month for June, with the theme being LGBQT+ books/writers.
The Quotes
“They say nothing lasts forever but they’re just scared it will last longer than they can love it.”
“Because the sunset, like survival, exists only on the verge of its own disappearing. To be gorgeous, you must first be seen, but to be seen allows you to be hunted.”
“I am writing because they told me to never start a sentence with because. But I wasn’t trying to make a sentence—I was trying to break free. Because freedom, I am told, is nothing but the distance between the hunter and its prey.”
“Perhaps it was not a destination I sought, but merely a continuation.”
The Narrator(s)
The writer himself, Ocean Vuong. The book was absolutely beautiful and he was the perfect narrator for it.
My Thoughts
I had no idea what to expect going into this book but suffice to say I didn’t know it was going to be so beautiful and lyrical. The book talks about a lot of difficult things, awkward things, painful things, but with such beautiful words and flow that makes it feel like a magical fever dream. I don’t know how to describe it but it’s just one of the most amazing reading experiences and it moves you to the core.
My Feels
I loved it, and I love it some more. There’s so much complexity in this story and the way the story is told. I’m just so blown away.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
