Poet Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling.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.
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On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous: A Novel
von Ocean Vuong
Poet Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling.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.
Aktuelle Rezensionen(1)
Rezension von ElenaI don't know how I can review such a book. I don't know how true the story told in it is but it feels like I'm judging a person. The book definitely is written very very beautifully and knowing later on that the author has a background in poetry it makes a lot of sense. This was a strength and weakness of the book - the prose just is stunning most of the time but when it's not it's hard to read. But I also struggle with poetry so maybe it's more on me. <spoiler> All I knew of this book was that the prose was beautiful and that it was a letter from a son to his mother that can't read, so I didn't expect what I got. So many themes are handled. War, being an immigrant in the USA, being queer, drugs (very unexpected), death and loss. And obviously parental abuse and love. I cried a lot during this book and the prose certainly helped. There is a way things were worded in this book that simply broke me sometimes. For example when Trevor dies and the protagonist talks about the president of making money of sadness. I sobbed so hard i had to stop reading to collect myself again because it hit me so hard - I don't even know why. I can't relate to a lot of the things addressed in this book but they all touched me deeply. What does the book say? Honestly, a lot yet nothing. It is simply a life and as such a recollection of events, there is nothing to say about it. But obviously it still does, by showing you. By showing you the victims of war and how long those scars endure. By showing the victims of drugs and the profit made of them. It doesn't really say anything but it's impossible not to think something about them, the book forces you to think what it wants you to think without saying it, and that's powerful. As I've said the poetic writing was difficult sometimes. I'm not experienced in poetry nor do I enjoy it a lot so put the blame on me if you will. There were times I just had a hard time reading. Because the book was going nowhere, which simply is in its nature and not a flaw, because it was emotional, which is a good thing, because i took my time with every word to take in what it said but also because sometimes I couldn't understand what it said. Another thing I had a hard time with was the detailed sex. I'm sure there was a point to the descriptions but I failed to see them most of the time. Some scenes carried more weight than others. Some scenes I just felt uncomfortable. </spoiler>