Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong

44 reviews

leoniekross's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? N/A

3.5

Took me a month to read, partially because the subject matter at times was very challenging to read through and partially because of the ebb and flow of how much the book sucked me in. The author is know for a writing style bursting with metaphors and imagery which I found well-done throughout most of this book but veering into bloated towards the end. I didn't vibe at all with the last 30 or so pages but the beginning is wonderful. As you can see, I find it truly hard to make up my mind about this book in its entirety but I will say that my mom enjoyed it, for what it's worth.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, War, Car accident, Sexual violence, Racism, Grief, Cancer, Addiction, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, and Cancer

rgreyreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Abortion, Sexual violence, Racism, and Death

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

steffi_jo's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

1.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Emotional abuse, and Sexual violence

killeenm's review

dark reflective sad 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

2.0

I wanted to like this book but I really didn’t. The first part was the best in my opinion, and I did appreciate the book’s exploration of war, immigration, parents, and queerness. Overall, I didn’t understand the sometimes overly metaphoric tangents, even though I wanted to understand what they were getting at, I didn’t. They didn’t flow well with the rest of the book and seemed like an author’s attempt to work in certain points without actually having to tie it into the story. As the book went on, graphic descriptions turned gruesome and torturous to read. I’m not one to shy away from reality or portrayals of it, but it was too much for me at times, and most of the time it didn’t seem to add to the point of the book. It was obviously written by a talented poet, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Gore, Emotional abuse, Death, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Bullying, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Injury/injury detail, Drug use, Child abuse, War, Murder, Abortion, Violence, Homophobia, Hate crime, Excrement, Vomit, Racism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Addiction

anneliemn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Drug use

Moderate: War and Domestic abuse

Minor: War

aprilinao's review

challenging emotional slow-paced

• 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? No

5.0

This book is so beautifully written, and as a queer person raised in a Viet immigrant family, it was a very emotional read. I would love to read it again and again. I hosted a book club through my campus library on this book, and it was difficult to narrow down discussion questions: A high number of lines are filled with meaning, and the book is told in unconventional manners. We could have made the meeting so much longer and would have loved every second of it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, War, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Death, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Racism, Rape, Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, and Hate crime

dan_g110's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Addiction and Toxic relationship

Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, War, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

bridgetbry's review against another edition

dark 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, War, Mental illness, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Death, Addiction, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Abortion and Homophobia

the_last_bookshelf's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Blood, Death, Sexual violence, War, Sexual content, and Addiction

Moderate: Homophobia and Domestic abuse

Minor: Alcoholism

sashagalkina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and War

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Racism, Abortion, and Addiction

Minor: Child abuse, Suicide, Terminal illness, Alcohol, and Sexual violence