naiu_cs'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: War, Violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Racism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Abortion, Death, Cancer, Child abuse, Bullying, Homophobia, Child death, and Blood
notartgarfunkel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Abortion, War, Child death, Death of parent, Racism, Gun violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Excrement, Body horror, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Gore, Blood, Cancer, Vomit, Murder, Medical content, Alcohol, Bullying, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Cursing
Minor: Fatphobia, Transphobia, Pedophilia, and Deportation
jelliestars's review
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, Grief, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, War, Child abuse, Violence, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Xenophobia, Abortion, Mental illness, and Blood
Minor: Transphobia, Car accident, Child death, Alcoholism, and Gun violence
kaimetcalfe's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Violence, War, Addiction, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Child death
Moderate: Pregnancy, Blood, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Gun violence, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cancer, and Car accident
Minor: Excrement and Medical content
raelong12's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Animal death, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Car accident, Classism, Addiction, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug use, Racism, Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and War
luckyone's review
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Sexual content, War, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Child death, Addiction, Cancer, Drug use, Car accident, Excrement, Medical content, War, Violence, Hate crime, and Racism
Minor: Transphobia and Cursing
antoniaodernein'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
4.0
Graphic: Drug use, Grief, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Gun violence, Animal death, Cancer, Death of parent, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
Minor: War and Miscarriage
natalie_davies's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
As a piece of literature it hangs together really well, it's just not always to my taste. There were universal ideas peppered throughout that tied me to the narrative; I loved the about language and art for instance, as well as the intrinsic theme of family, but the explicit nature of some scenes left me a bit cold... I'm not 100% why that is though.
It could be because of my own relative disinterest in sex scenes in literature, or because seeing certain anatomical words rubbing up amongst the rest of Vuong's eloquent and graceful language felt wrong. Either way I found myself losing track of the things I cared about in the middle portion of the book, which is mainly concerned with sexual discovery with a fellow immigrant and Tabacco picker, Trevor. It picked up again after this section, once the letters had become splinters rather than whole paragraphs, but it never quite thrilled me as it did in the first 30 pages.
Quick-ish note... Feel free to stop reading, I just need to ramble.
Is it because Vuong is very much subverting expectations of masculinity, having the courage to express his vulnerability, while Kaur is a of feminine expectations to ONLY dwell in these realms?
I'm not suggesting that the argument is this surface level, but it's a thought I had.... Maybe ignore this bit 🤷
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Child death, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Death, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Cancer, Excrement, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Grief, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
bites_of_books's review against another edition
- 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
Little Dog is a young man who is writing a letter to his mother, telling her about many aspects of his life that he'd never told her before. We learn about his family's story in Vietnam as well as what happened as he grew up in the US. This is all told in snippets that jump back and forth between memories, almost like a structured and poetic stream of consciousness. While it was beautiful it was also violent and raw and simply overwhelming at times.
I so wish that the structure of the novel had been a bit more linear, adding that to the poetic writing made it quite difficult to fully appreciate everything that was going on in the novel. If anything, I think this is one novel that I'll get a lot more out of upon re-reading it.
I'd recommend it but definitely check the trigger warnings before reading, be patient, take your time, and keep an open mind for a novel that is blurring the lines between novel and poetry.
Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and War
picoledenaranja's review
- 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
Graphic: War, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Mental illness, Homophobia, and Death
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Child death and Gun violence