Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Στη Γη είμαστε πρόσκαιρα υπέροχοι by Ocean Vuong

115 reviews

hannahnadeshda's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War

kelisabeth's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

chaosbumblebee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Such a beautiful book it makes me want to go back and lower my rating of everything else so that this is the only 5 star read I have this year--or ever. Heartbreaking, poignant, perfect and imperfect, Vuong puts words to feelings I didn't know words could be put to. I need to call my mom.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

vaykay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

ameliasbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

More thoughts to come.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Deportation

Moderate: Gun violence and Car accident

angelo_vossen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

„I am thinking of beauty again, how some things are hunted because we have deemed them beautiful. If, relative to the history of our planet, an individual life is so short, a blink of an eye, as they say, then to be gorgeous, even from the day you're born to the day you die, is to be gorgeous only briefly.“

"On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong is a stunning debut novel that blends poetic language with a raw and intimate narrative. The novel is framed as a letter from the protagonist, Little Dog, to his illiterate mother, capturing the complexities of their relationship and the broader tapestry of their lives as Vietnamese immigrants in America.

Vuong's prose is lyrical and evocative, drawing on his background as a poet to create vivid imagery and deep emotional resonance. The novel delves into themes of identity, trauma, and the search for belonging, exploring how personal and collective histories shape the characters' lives. The narrative oscillates between past and present, weaving Little Dog's coming-of-age story with reflections on his family's experiences during the Vietnam War.

One of the novel's strengths is its exploration of intergenerational trauma and the immigrant experience, shedding light on the challenges faced by those straddling two cultures. Little Dog's struggles with his sexuality, his bond with his mother, and the haunting memories of his family's past are portrayed with unflinching honesty. Vuong also delves into topics like homophobia as for example portrayed in the following quote and the effects of society‘s expectations and pressure:

„The large boy took out a key chain and started scraping the paint off my bike. It came off so easily, in rosy sparks. I sat there, watching the concrete fleck with bits of pink as he gashed the key against the bike's bones. I wanted to cry but did not yet know how to in English. So I did nothing.

That was the day I learned how dangerous a color can be. That a boy could be knocked off that shade and made to reckon his trespass. Even if color is nothing but what the light reveals, that ‚nothing’ has laws, and a boy on a pink bike must learn, above all else, the law of gravity.“

While the novel's non-linear structure and dense prose may be challenging for some readers (including myself), Vuong's ability to convey profound truths through his writing makes it a deeply rewarding read. "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" is a poignant and powerful meditation on love, loss, and the beauty and pain of life. It is a book that lingers in the mind long after the last page is turned.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, and Abortion

Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Cancer and Outing

katanai's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

this was so, so raw. raw in the way your skin feels after getting sun burnt - hot, with a reassurance that after the initial burn, even the brush of your own clothes is going to make your skin sting for a couple of days because of it's rawness. but, reading this was also like being swept up in a river where everything flows so gently until the current picks up and you remember that you're in a river and you've never really known how to float, but you can swim, but the cold is eating at your skin and how long can you go? 

i already mentioned it but vuong's writing is so captivating and raw and there were several lines that made me cry, but the type of crying that builds up without you knowing and then suddenly you're crying silently. i think i've tapped too much, but this was so so raw without it being tryhard. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

Minor: Abortion

adverb17's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

"Novel" is a weak word for this. This is a masterclass in poetic connection-making.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Homophobia, Racism, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and War

lia_mills's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Method: audiobook

To be honest, I found Part I of this book to be difficult to get through, in a "this feels like homework" kind of way (and this is coming from someone who usually enjoyed doing English homework).

I suspected choosing the audiobook may have been a mistake - this book uses a lot of poetic language in a way that often works on the page but can be a little exhausting to listen to, and the way the story moves back and forth across memories over years or decades, although effective in helping us understand the narrator, can be a little confusing in audiobook form.

But from Part II onwards it picked up for me - maybe I just got used to it. It's certainly an evocative story, with a lot of insights into the life of a shy, thoughtful, working-class, queer, Vietnamese-American young man, and a level of emotional depth that makes me understand why it's been so highly regarded.

Some quotes I found particularly interesting:

• "The thing is, I don't want my sadness to be othered from me, just as I don't want my happiness to be othered. They're both mine. I made them, damn it."
 • "Too much joy, I swear, is lost in the desperation to keep it."
 • "You asked me what it's like to be a writer, and I'm giving you a mess, I know. But it's a mess, Ma. I'm not making this up. I made it down."

Works (2) this made me think of: 

• My Sister's Keeper (2004 family/medical/legal drama novel by Jodie Picoult): has a similar aspect of moving through time (although from a variety of different narrators rather than the one here), and a similar reliance on (and, to my mind, borderline overuse of) explanatory metaphor and symbolism.
• Call Me By Your Name (2007 coming-of-age novel by Andre Aciman): has a similar exploration of a secret MM relationship, from the first-person perspective of the more (comparatively) introverted partner. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Abortion

swifterel22's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's written so beautifully and talks about many important topics. 
This book moves you, shows you a horrible but very real in this world reality. The sentences were written so gorgeously that I couldn't help but highlight many of them and I felt like in some parts this novel read more like poetry.
I am so glad I finally got to reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, Cultural appropriation, and War

Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Transphobia, and Abortion