Published: 2021
Series: N/A
Author: Ocean Vuong
Illustrator: N/A
Genres: Immigrant Story, LGBTQ+, Contemporary Literary Fiction, Epistolary Text, Fiction, Poetry, Queer, Realistic Fiction
Audience (Grade Levels): Grades 11-12
Number of Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 stars)
Goodreads Link: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
Triggers: Addiction, violence against people and animals, bullying, cancer, death, drug use, homophobic slurs, racism, sexual assault, PTSD, war
Review By: Sarah Williams
Publisher’s Summary:
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, all tempered 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.
With stunning urgency and grace, Ocean Vuong writes of people caught between disparate worlds, and asks how we heal and rescue one another without forsaking who we are. The question of how to survive, and how to make of it a kind of joy, powers the most important debut novel of many years.
Review:
Ocean Vuong is a poet and essayist whose poems I have shared in my classes before. When I saw this text from him, I was intrigued. He is a wonderful writer, an openly gay and Buddhist individual whose poems have been well received by my students, so I had high hopes for this book. I was not disappointed. This epistolary text is an intriguing story, part memoir and part fiction, which keeps you reading and marveling at the story it tells.
One of the main focuses of Vuong´s text, which is part memoir and part fictionalized story, is how the Vietnam War affected many many across the globe, with war decimating countries and households alike. In the book Ocean Vuong details the years of physical abuse endured by the main character´s mother, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after fleeing her homeland and the intense guerilla warfare associated with it. The United State’s involvement in the Vietnam War was a vain attempt to ‘contain’ Communism within Southeast Asia. In the end Vietnam was torn into two separate entities; one of which supported the Soviet cause and the other backed by the military giant that is the United States. Vuong beautifully illustrates the racial and political issues of a ‘controlled’ space, highlighting the pain and devastating effects of war on many people.
Yet the book is more than just a letter to his mother, as it explores bigger issues of race, class, masculinity/femininity, immigration, and the many issues the America of today faces. It is split into two different parts, with one part focused on Little Dog and his mother and the second part dealing with being an Asian immigrant in America. His intertwining of race, gender and power draws the reader in and makes this a text that encourages its readers to consider their own biases and to find hope and joy in their own lives. I really enjoyed Vuonǵś prose, which is so lyrical and poetic in nature, as he details how many immigrant families chase the ¨American Dream¨ and yet find it hard to achieve in a society that does not look favorably on immigrants. The notion that Vuong is writing this as a way to reinforce his ownership over the experiences he has endured continues to impress his audience as a second generation, queer man of color taking his own power in a society that systemically does not grant him any. The concepts and focuses of this book make it unique and a wonderful story to read and discuss with upper level students.
Fair warning that I did rank this a 4/5 because of the two distinct parts. I wish this were truly all memoir of Vuong, because I think there is power in an individual´s own story and I would have enjoyed reading it more knowing it were all true. Still, it is a magnificent work of contemporary literature that will resonate deeply with older teens.
Classroom & Curricular Connections:
- ELA / Literature: Serves as a brilliant contemporary example of an epistolary novel and prose poetry. It can be utilized in upper-level high school English classes to analyze non-linear narrative structures, imagery, and style.
- Social Studies / History: Connects directly to modern world history units on the Vietnam War, the global diaspora, the psychological aftermath of geopolitical conflicts, and the late 20th-century immigrant experience in the United States.
- Extension Activity / Library Application: This book is perfectly suited for an Advanced Placement (AP) English Literature circle, a high school creative writing seminar, or a community-wide library book club for older teens. As an extension activity, students can study Vuong’s background as a poet and write an original epistolary essay or prose poem addressed to a family member, exploring themes of shared history, personal identity, or unspoken truths.
- Diversity & Representation: The book offers exceptional, multi-layered representation by centering a queer, second-generation Vietnamese-American man of color. It provides an authentic and devastating look into the intersections of immigrant struggles, intergenerational trauma, poverty, and LGBTQ+ identity in working-class America.
Readalikes:
- I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
- Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
