Comments (54)

Community comments are the opinions of contributing users. These comments do not represent the opinions of Daniel Boone Regional Library.
What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 54 items
Oct 25, 2023JCLCatherineS rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Ocean Vuong's newest poetry collection, Time is a Mother, is a really deliberate and careful exploration of grief and relationships. As always, Vuong integrates his family's history and the violence of the past with love and loss in his…
Sep 06, 2023
here i stand - yuragi
Jun 11, 2023justinlife rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This is a gorgeous novel with some of the best prose one could read. Poets have a great way with words and Vuong makes sentences that are art. In this novel, a man is writing a letter to his illiterate mother basically confessing his…
May 29, 2023jrhiggins rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
It’s a poetic exploration of the experience of being “othered” in the United States. In this case because of being both gay and Vietnamese. One of its themes is the devastation caused by OxyContin and other drugs, and it’s a tough go…
Mar 30, 2023batrickpateman rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I read this book for a creative writing class. Initially, I wasn't very into the book and was anxious to be done with it and move on. However, as the story continued to unravel, I was more and more drawn in. The book is a series of…
Dec 23, 2022sara922 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
My absolutely favorite book ever. It was as much devastating as it was relatable. Vuong does such an amazing job at writing his experiences and relationship to his mom. I could not recommend this book enough.
Nov 08, 2022HPL_Teen_Volunteer1 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
"On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" serves as Little Dog’s letter to his dead mother, revealing his family’s shattering history as they navigated through life in America as Vietnamese immigrants after the Vietnam War. He uncovers his complex…
Sep 08, 2022
Pg 54
Aug 31, 2022planetclaire67 rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
If you’re looking for poetic writing, an unusual memoir of sorts, or just something completely different, you may like this. It was too fractured and rambling for me, and not what I expected.
Jul 22, 2022
On earth we’re briefly gorgeous is not a brief, but AN ETERNALLY gorgeous novel. From the lyrical writing, raw emotions and sublime plot, all the way to the heartbreaking messages that it has to offer. ON EARTH WE’RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS is…
Apr 27, 2022cac27701 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I can't say enough about this book. brilliant, lyrical.
Apr 23, 2022Einer2 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Complex emotions and beautifully written.
Apr 19, 2022mclarjh rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Fair writing; juvenile; vanity.
Apr 18, 2022gvianai rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
where should I start with this story? the spellbinding words, the redolent poetry and prose or the vivid pictures they paint? like you're not merely reading but nearly living the memories. or maybe the conceptual difficulties the book…
Feb 11, 2022JCLChrisK rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Such writing! "To be gorgeous, you must first be seen, but to be seen allows you to be hunted." The narrator explores his life through the lens of his relationships with those he loves: his mother, grandmother, and first love primarily;…
Jan 26, 2022PimaLib_ChristineR rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I started this book many times over several years in various formats before this completed read. I had to be in the right headspace and I will say upfront, I couldn't do the audio version read by the author. Vuong's poetic roots come…
Jan 26, 2022camilayeremin rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Vuong’s “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” is a beautiful yet devastating novel that often reads like poetry. I loved this author’s voice, he touches on a variety of social issues like toxic masculinity, racism, and mental health. The lack…
Dec 12, 2021
Trauma literature…yes, he writes with skill, but there is enough horror and trauma in the news, that I don’t need to seek out more. Try “The Best We Could Do”, which is a graphic novel that gets at why survivors of SE Asian war carry so…
Dec 06, 2021khristinemarcinowski rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
“ I am writing to reach you—even if each word I put down is one word further from where you are. ” On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is undeniably raw, and heartbreaking in it's lyrical prose drawn straight from a well of truth and…
metcalfsharon64
Aug 24, 2021
I did purchase it!!!
Jul 07, 2021helaynasy rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This novel is coming-of-age story focusing on a young man. He is a Vietnamese American who is writing a letter/ this novel to his alliterate mother. There are no words I could use to explain this book that would properly represent how…
Apr 01, 2021peacebenow rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Hearing Mr Vuong on "On Being" prompted me to read this book. He tells the story starting in Vietnam son of a mixed race couple and moves to the US w/ his Mom and Grandmother. This book is a letter to his Mom who endures unspeakable…
Mar 24, 2021JCLCherylMY rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This stunning coming of age novel is a semi-autobiographical work by a Vietnamese author. Ocean Vuong tells us continually throughout this beautiful book that trauma changes our DNA and informs how we look at the world. The story centers…
Mar 11, 2021kommonkreature rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
tender & raw, vuong weaves words like a dream-- could and would read again :')
Mar 08, 2021PDBurt rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Through the son's letters to his mother readers learn of his life growing up with her, a traumatized woman lucky enough to be living in North America and his grandmother, whose own story is told. The revelations articulate the horrors…