"On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" by Ocean Vuong

SYNOPSIS (from goodreads)

“On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous” is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born — a history whose epicenter is rooted in Vietnam — and serves as a doorway into parts of his life his mother has never known, all of it leading to an unforgettable revelation. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity. Asking questions central to our American moment, immersed as we are in addiction, violence, and trauma, but undergirded by compassion and tenderness, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is as much about the power of telling one's own story as it is about the obliterating silence of not being heard.

REVIEW

This reads like a memoir. There is something about this book that is so raw and vulnerable that it is shocking that it is not the author’s real life experience. The lead (Little Dog) has so much depth and speaks so much truth.

The writing is also extraordinary. The author’s background as a poet is very apparent here. His writing is so lyrical and the words flow together beautifully.

The novel managed to cover a wide range of topics and depict a large span of time. In doing so it still feels very intimate as the story unfolds by way of letters from a child to his mother. The complexity of that relationship is truly unique and exceptionally displayed.

I’ve never read anything quite like it.

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