Reviews tagging 'Death'

Sigh, Gone: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In by Phuc Tran

8 reviews

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

medium-paced

5.0

Absolutely loved this. Extremely relatable on so many levels. 
There are some content/trigger warnings to be aware of but nothing extremely graphic.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

sirhcybe's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

2.5

Phuc had a troubled childhood with an abusive father and lots of racism and bullying directed his way. So it's no wonder he was an angry, punk  troublemaker as a teenager. I live near the town where he grew up and he's pretty hard on it.  The book ends with him finally achieving his longed for goal of getting out of Carlisle and going to college so we never quite see him mature into the teacher he becomes or find out if he ever reconciles with his parents, which made the book feel inconclusive to me. I also didn't personally relate to his teenage troubles and I don't particularly enjoy reading stories about other people's sad lives. Finally, while generally well written, it did annoy me occasionally that Phuc writes like he's trying to get high school English teachers to assign his book because it has so many good SAT vocabulary words.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

modzu's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Infidelity, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and War

saara_ilona_muu's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.5

This is a great first-effort written by a Vietnamese-American Gen X skater-punk. I loved so much about this book. He's got an authentic voice, and I found myself laughing and crying at various points.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide, Murder, and War

plantybooklover's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

4.75

Phuc is evacuated from Saigon with his family in 1975 and ends up, surprisingly, in Carlisle, PA.  I grew up- shockingly- 11 miles away. we were 3-4 years apart and as far as I can tell, never crossed paths- although I am sure he met my Mom at some point. 
   Phuc is an excellent story teller and rolls through his life - with it's many challenges- in a funny, but also genuine and clear eyed way. His descriptions of Carlisle, were spot on, and I related my way to tears at some points in the book- his story- while uniquely his, resonated with me- and I am sure it will resonate with anyone who has felt like an outsider. 
The only thing that would have made it better, would have been to have some chapters of his time in college- he attended the same college as my sister, so ... I'd love to sit down with him and compare out some notes some day!
I'd recommend the audio book- the author narrates it himself, and I felt like he was just hanging out in the living room, telling stories.  Definitely a worth while read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism

Moderate: Xenophobia

Minor: Drug use, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

calicot's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Racism

Moderate: Racial slurs and Violence

Minor: Death, Suicide, and Murder

mandkips's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Hate crime, Sexual content, and Violence

rynstagram's review against another edition

challenging inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.5

A story about a person into punk rock and reading was right up my alley. Phuc's comparison of segments of his life to classic novels was a really effective way of tying different memories/stories together. It adds so much to the reflective tone of the whole novel. 

The reason for my star rating is because the metaphors and language are all great, but there were some details that were a bit jarring because they felt like they needed a backstory. It was easy to tell that some stories had been cut when a name or fact about Phuc's life is briefly mentioned in a different story with the assumption that the reader knows about it. Also, it took me a little while to get into. 

This is one of those slower paced books that needs to be that way. It's incredibly honest and vulnerable while also being funny and well-written. His story has very little in common with mine, but the way he tells it makes you feel what he's feeling in that moment. He proves his point that literature can connect people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Death and Hate crime

Minor: Animal death and Violence