On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

What do you call a book that flows like a river from beginning to end, what do you call one that is painfully beautiful that your heart bleeds everytime you read the word, ‘Ma’ ? ” I don’t know if you’re happy, Ma. I never asked.” “Ma, you once told me that memory is a choice. But if you were god, you’d know it’s a flood.” But my doubt is everywhere, Ma. Ma…. At times, this book feels like a love letter. At times, like a memoir. At times, it feels something more than anything the words I know could describe. It told me how a war never ends, how it continues inside a person long after it is over, It told me how love at it’s best repeat itself, how to love something, at times was to name it after something so worthless that it might be left untouched, how for some people apology was their form of saying hello, how losing a person could make more of us, the living, broken into two. And the list goes on. I don’t remember the last time I cried reading a book. May be it was because Lan reminded me of my grandfather, how for me the greatest love was being asked ‘Did you eat’ when nobody cared and every time, Lan asks “Little Dog, Did you eat”, I felt love in it’s most pure form. I badly want to go back to this book and inhale in all the words, like how could somebody write about people and places with so much beauty that you fall in love even with the pain, how could somebody see something and relate it to something so different. Ocean Vuong is no less than a magician and I am so glad that I decided to buy this one. There is very few pages in this book that I haven’t highlighted. So give it a read, people. Happy Reading.

I recently received this book and I’m really happy with the overall experience. The packaging was secure and well done, ensuring that the book arrived in perfect condition without any damage. The quality of the book is exactly as expected, with clean pages and a neat cover. I truly appreciate the care taken in handling the delivery. It definitely made the unboxing experience pleasant. I’m excited to start reading it soon and can’t wait to dive into it! Overall, a great purchase experience. Highly satisfied!

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous isn’t just a novel — it’s a letter, a memory, a confession. Ocean Vuong’s writing is absolutely stunning. It reads like poetry, each line soaked in emotion and meaning. The way he explores trauma, identity, immigration, queerness, and family is both brutally honest and beautifully delicate. The narrative doesn’t follow a traditional plot structure, which might not be for everyone. It’s more reflective, a stream of memories and feelings rather than clear-cut events. But that’s what makes it powerful — it’s real, like sifting through someone’s soul. I found myself pausing often, not because I was bored, but because a sentence hit too hard or too beautifully. This is a book you feel more than follow. If you’re looking for a fast-paced story, this isn’t it. But if you want something raw, poetic, and emotionally profound, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous will stay with you long after the final page.

"Sometimes being offered tenderness is the very proof that you've been ruined." Ocean's vuongs language is living, breathing poetry. The sort of novel you would cry over after it ends, because it ends. Explores the impact of war and a mother son relationship in a redefined way. Awaiting his next book!

"I'm not telling you a story so much as a shipwreck- the pieces floating, finally legible " This is exactly how the whole book is. This book is a letter by a son to his mother who cannot read. This book talks about war and its effects, immigrants, abuse and racism, drug abuse, life and death. This book is like a soft spoken child who is spitting facts. It's sad to know that all that is described in this book is the truth of the world. And it's so tragically poetic. This book is the picture of the lost "American Dream". But to say the least, the overal composition of the book was too chaotic to be legible. I know it's a wildly popular bookstagram book but I only enjoyed the first half of the book. The later half had me confused over the fact that it did not make any sense where the story was going.

Such vivid and heartbreaking picture of country and its people during war time ; you cannot 'not love' this book. Vuong talks about race, homosexuality, white privilege, bully, mental health, drug abuse, and so many things through people and their prejudice. I felt so many things while reading it. All along the book I was crying (in the third part of the book), smiling at narrator's little happiness, drowning. The author has painted a picture with so many shades and I'm trying to figure those out by rereading. After reading Voung's Night Sky With Exit Wounds, I decided to pick this up. I did the right thing to my soul. This book fed my soul. Vuong fan now!!!

On Earth we're briefly gorgeous by Ocean Vuong Genre: Epistolary Fiction Plot: On Earth we're briefly gorgeous is a letter written by the son, Little dog to his mother, Rose who does not know english. She cannot speak or read english since they are from Vietnam. Their family migrated from Vietnam to America after the war in Vietnam. This book is brilliantly written and shows the life of Little dog. It is actually semi-autobiography and includes many aspects of the author's real life. The life after war is not easy especially if you migrated to America. There Little dog and family faces a lot of struggles like the language, racism and poverty, etc. My thoughts: The book is amazing and written beautifully and it's melancholic. Author is a poet and you can see it throughout the book. I felt the first part deeply emotional but second part not so much. So when I looked into it, I realized some parts are real life of author and some fictional. The ficational part was indeed fictional and anybody could feel it. I felt sad while reading about Littile dog's mother and grandmother. Just thinking about their life makes me emotional. I definitely recommend this book to someone who likes to read an emotional and real life stories.

The story of little dog(the narrator) through his own writing as he writes his mother a letter(this book) which is very unlikely she'll ever read. It is filled with all the heart touching intricate details of his life and his family overcoming the effects of war. My favourite parts were the narrators childhood memories with his grandma and mom. And also the part where his grandma died. Ocean Vuong's writing is just so poetic and drips beauty in memories.

Quality of the book looks perfect

Beautiful. I enjoyed how artfully and thoughtfully each sentence in this book was put together. It engages all the senses and inspires all kinds of emotions.

An extremely powerful narrative of a Vietnamese boy and his relationship with his mother and grandmother living as expatriates in the USA. Also it portrays a coming of age story set in a rural part of America seen with different lenses and the discovery for his first love for a bitterly sad teenage boy. Writing a letter to his illiterate mother, the narrator reveals all the suffering and complexities that their lives carried away and their struggle for mutual understanding living in a new country. This a debut autobiographical novel by the highly-awarded poet Ocean Vuong who gives us a heartbreaking punch of his experience for being a foreigner in America. The narrative is full of poetry in its poignant fabric of his personal life and reminded me of a great Portuguese writer as well: Valter Hugo Mãe. It was a great pleasure to read such a captivating and intense novel.

Style does not sit with me, but then again I am not a native english speaker.

Such a moving book. Could not put it down.