Good morning!
This week, I’m recommending a book so universally loved that it almost feels unnecessary to recommend it. What can I possibly say that hasn’t already been said in the SIXTY-FIVE THOUSAND reviews (averaging 4.05 stars) on Goodreads?
Maybe nothing, but I’m recommending it anyway.
Enjoy!
— Becca
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
Fiction, June 2019
If you’ve heard anything about this book, it’s probably that the writing is exquisite. And it is! The prose is stunning and unlike anything I’ve ever read before.
The novel is written as a letter from a son, Little Dog, to his illiterate mother. Through it, we see him attempt to show his mother parts of him that she’s never known. At the same time, he delves into the generational trauma that comes along with being the child of an immigrant who endured the horrors of the Vietnam war.
There’s a lot to digest here, and it’s the kind of book you need to be prepared to take your time with. Some sentences are gut punches, and others you’ll just want to sit with for a while.
It’s probably worth noting that this is decidedly not a plot-driven novel. Little Dog addresses that from the start, writing, “I’m not telling you a story so much as a shipwreck — the pieces floating, lit up, finally legible.”
This is an apt description. The novel spans decades, from Little Dog’s mother’s adolescence in Vietnam to his own upbringing in Connecticut, but the exact timeline of events never feels important.
Instead, we follow his thoughts as he makes sense of how war, violence, and trauma have shaped his and his family’s lives. We see him explore race, queerness, masculinity, first love, and loss.
And for me, the best part of the novel is the way Little Dog examines his relationship with his mother. He takes his time piecing together decades of memories, and the end result is a portrait of a mother and son who may never fully understand one another, but have an unbreakable bond built on love and protection.
All this time I told myself we were born from war—but I was wrong, Ma. We were born from beauty. Let no one mistake us for the fruit of violence—but that violence, having passed through the fruit, failed to spoil it.
Queer points:
Just don’t feel appropriate for this book?
Buy it from People Get Ready