[BOOK REVIEW] On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4.25 Stars

Genre: Fiction, LGBT

Trigger warnings: bullying, abuse, drug addiction, mental illness, homophobia

“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.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

In Ocean Vuong’s debut novel, the narrator Little Dog writes a heartfelt, earnest letter to his illiterate mother, who had her education cut short due to the Vietnam War. Vuong’s prose not only illustrates the love between a single mother and her son, but it also explores race, gender, sexuality, masculinity, grief, war, immigration, and language. Vuong explores people caught in disparate worlds, and questions how we can heal and save one another without sacrificing who we are.

I really enjoyed this book and found Vuong’s prose to be so beautiful and eloquent! There were so many moments in the book where Vuong hits you with a phrase or sentence that makes you think about life, about who we are. Vuong has a way with words that made his writing a pleasure to read.

I felt some sadness while reading Little Dog’s letter: in his letter he is bleeding, bleeding out his thoughts, his wishes, his feelings, his love. His honesty and earnestness brings to light his love for his mother, his grandmother, Trevor, and his experiences. I really loved how Vuong weaves in his own personal experience and historical events into his fictional story.

While Little Dog’s immigrant experience is very different from my family’s, I could relate to the overall themes of immigration and language Vuong explores. I could understand the feelings he conveyed about the immigrant experience and its effects on the mind and body. I liked how Vuong explored language on two different scales: the choice of one’s words and phrases, and the power (or lack of) an individual has by having access to language and literacy. We see this primarily in Little Dog and his mother; while Little Dog has the power of language with him, his mother, who is illiterate and does not understand English, lacks that power. I also related to Little Dog’s relationship with his mother in some ways. He sees his mother as someone who understands you more than you ever could, and who is someone you wish you can fully understand but never can.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a beautiful letter from a son to his single mother. It is a story of how life is a fleeting, temporary thing on Earth. Yet it is also a story of how in times of sadness and pain, there are also moments of love, joy, and hope. I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend everyone to read it! :D

- lian