All About Books discussion

A breathtaking and deeply moving novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is written as a letter from a son to his illiterate mother—one that she may never read. Through vivid, poetic prose, Ocean Vuong explores themes of identity, love, trauma, and survival, weaving together a coming-of-age story that navigates the complexities of family, race, and queerness.

Raw, intimate, and beautifully written, this novel is a must-read for anyone who appreciates powerful storytelling and lyrical language.

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I've found it! I'll be starting it by the beginning of next month

Finished. I liked this book very much. The language is beautiful and style, structure of the text is captivating. It is like a collage of pictures some hazy, some clear, telling us story of grief originated from violence and separation, the feeling of alienation in a strange land with foreign language, strangeness of a body demanding unconventional love, cruelty towards man and animals.
I liked the struggle to survive, the farewell episode of Paul to Lan.

It is a 5 star and a fit for reread book for me .

Striking how the author switched between writing styles. Sometimes it was almost poetic, sometimes it was krass and blunt.

Alannah wrote: "Raw, intimate, and beautifully written, this novel is a must-read for anyone who appreciates powerful storytelling and lyrical language."

I love your description of this Alannah, and I agree completely!

And Kat, I agree with everything you say too! He is sometimes a little krass, but even the krassness somehow adds to the lyricism for me. Maybe because it makes it feel so "real"? His depictions aren't idealized at all, but there is so much love in it nevertheless.

I am looking forward to this one, I hope to read it sometime this week.