On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Paperback – 1 January 2020

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous isn’t just a novel — it’s a letter, a memory, a confession. Ocean Vuong’s writing is absolutely stunning. It reads like poetry, each line soaked in emotion and meaning. The way he explores trauma, identity, immigration, queerness, and family is both brutally honest and beautifully delicate.The narrative doesn’t follow a traditional plot structure, which might not be for everyone. It’s more reflective, a stream of memories and feelings rather than clear-cut events. But that’s what makes it powerful — it’s real, like sifting through someone’s soul.I found myself pausing often, not because I was bored, but because a sentence hit too hard or too beautifully. This is a book you feel more than follow.If you’re looking for a fast-paced story, this isn’t it. But if you want something raw, poetic, and emotionally profound, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous will stay with you long after the final page.

"Did you know people get rich off of sadness? I want to meet the millionaire of American sadness. I want to look him in the eye, shake his hand, and say, 'it's been an honor to serve my country."This is not a novel, or at least not in a sense a novel is often described as but more like an amalgamation of ideas, poetry, essays, memoir with a touch of fiction, just enough to camouflage it as a novel for the sake of the wider world. In an interview, Ocean Vuong says he was inspired to write something similar (thematically and structurally) to Moby Dick, how Herman Melville never "compromised in a way it follows it's curiosity". And here as well Vuong replicates it. On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous isn't about one thing solely; it's multi faceted. And what can I say about the beauty?It's not a secret that he writes beautifully; even the word "beautiful" feels redundant in comparison but that's the highest praise in the English dictionary, isn't it? Read this - "If you forget me, then you've gone too far. Turn back", do I need to say anything else about the language, the writing style. As for the plot, there is none. It just flows, stories mingle into each other, more like smoke rising in the sky. It's about Vietnam, war, immigration, mothers, sons, heritage, queerness, sex, American, dream and whiteness.It's not a perfect book; there are points where the book is relatively weak and inconsistent; points where I thought, wtf! Speaking politely, I even got bored especially towards the end where things got a little "abstract". Sometimes the beautiful words just seem like beautiful words and nothing more, weightless and fleeting. But when it's good, it's really good, when it shines, it shines like the lord himself.If you are planning to read this book, I will say one thing, read it slowly. Even though it's a 240 page book and one could read it in a day or two, I would recommend stretching it over a week. Read a paragraph and let it sink. Take time with this book because it demands it. Read a passage you think is beautifully written again and again until you memorize it. This is how this book should be read. Like an expensive meal.

"Sometimes being offered tenderness is the very proof that you've been ruined."Ocean's vuongs language is living, breathing poetry. The sort of novel you would cry over after it ends, because it ends. Explores the impact of war and a mother son relationship in a redefined way. Awaiting his next book!

What do you call a book that flows like a river from beginning to end, what do you call one that is painfully beautiful that your heart bleeds everytime you read the word, ‘Ma’ ?” I don’t know if you’re happy, Ma. I never asked.”“Ma, you once told me that memory is a choice. But if you were god, you’d know it’s a flood.”But my doubt is everywhere, Ma.Ma….At times, this book feels like a love letter. At times, like a memoir. At times, it feels something more than anything the words I know could describe. It told me how a war never ends, how it continues inside a person long after it is over, It told me how love at it’s best repeat itself, how to love something, at times was to name it after something so worthless that it might be left untouched, how for some people apology was their form of saying hello, how losing a person could make more of us, the living, broken into two. And the list goes on.I don’t remember the last time I cried reading a book. May be it was because Lan reminded me of my grandfather, how for me the greatest love was being asked ‘Did you eat’ when nobody cared and every time, Lan asks “Little Dog, Did you eat”, I felt love in it’s most pure form.I badly want to go back to this book and inhale in all the words, like how could somebody write about people and places with so much beauty that you fall in love even with the pain, how could somebody see something and relate it to something so different. Ocean Vuong is no less than a magician and I am so glad that I decided to buy this one. There is very few pages in this book that I haven’t highlighted. So give it a read, people. Happy Reading.

"I'm not telling you a story so much as a shipwreck- the pieces floating, finally legible "This is exactly how the whole book is.This book is a letter by a son to his mother who cannot read.This book talks about war and its effects, immigrants, abuse and racism, drug abuse, life and death.This book is like a soft spoken child who is spitting facts. It's sad to know that all that is described in this book is the truth of the world. And it's so tragically poetic.This book is the picture of the lost "American Dream".But to say the least, the overal composition of the book was too chaotic to be legible.I know it's a wildly popular bookstagram book but I only enjoyed the first half of the book. The later half had me confused over the fact that it did not make any sense where the story was going.