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hannahnadeshda's review against another edition
- 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
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
maxthebeetlesheep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, and Pregnancy
vickymarieee's review against another edition
Graphic: Self harm
naddl0r's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
montyalmoro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
novella42's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
His author-read audiobook performance of this powerful book was nothing short of magnificent.
A queer Vietnamese American man writes a letter to his mother, a survivor of the Vietnam War, who cannot read. His love for her, and hers for him, is ferocious and beautiful beyond words. Vuong is a poet, but strangely, I find his novel more compelling than his poetry. Tons of content warnings, to the degree I don't know when I will ever feel mentally resilient enough in my own C-PTSD to re-read it in its entirety, but if you're in the mood for a good cry, I can't think of anything more cathartic.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, 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, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Fatphobia, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War
mjones14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I'm in love with the story. There wasn't a moment that I didn't feel sad in some type of way. Whilst it isn't a crying type of sad, it was enough to make me nostalgic for my own heritage and choices.
All in all, I'm confused by my reaction to this book, but I know its something special.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Genocide, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
lexipassno's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Dementia, Grief, Abortion, and Alcohol
laurenkimoto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I also don’t annotate books but I want a physical copy of this book to annotate because there are so many wonderful lines and quotes and more
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
krystalgaia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I enjoyed the writing style: a mix of essayistic, prosaic, and poetic. Very introspective, which is right up my alley. The way the whole story is a letter and is structured in vignettes made me feel like I was following Vuong's natural stream of consciousness, but I was never lost the way most stream-of-consciousness stories had made me feel.
The only thing that's keeping me from giving this a full five stars is the dialogue. There are parts, especially with Rose's and Lan's dialogue, that seemed more like Vuong's own voice rather than his mother's and grandmother's. This is noticeable on the first part, but as the book progressed, the dialogue became more natural to me.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, and War
Minor: Self harm