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On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
- Narrated by: Ocean Vuong
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
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Summary
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, written and read by Ocean Vuong.
Brilliant, heartbreaking, tender, and highly original – poet Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a sweeping and shattering portrait of a family, and a testament to the redemptive power of storytelling
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 epicentre 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 the American moment, immersed as it is 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.
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.
**SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2020**
**A FINALIST FOR THE PEN/FAULKNER AWARD 2020**
The Pride List of Queer Storytelling
Critic reviews
"Vuong is surely a literary descendant of the author of Leaves of Grass. Emerging from the most marginalized circumstances, he has produced a lyrical work of self-discovery that’s shockingly intimate and insistently universal... Not so much briefly gorgeous as permanently stunning." (Ron Charles)
"Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous confirms him as a master of inventive language that has its roots in the spoken word but reaches shimmering heights of lyricism, too." (Joseph O'Connor)
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What listeners say about On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
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- S. Collis
- 21-01-20
Couldn't bear the Author's narration
I will get this again as a book to read as I thought it sounded really well written, but OH NO! the author's narration completely ruined it for me! I tried for a good few chapters but in the end, had to give up. It's the tone of awed reverence that he gives to his own writing that just made me feel queasy. I should have looked at the other reviews that said similar things - seems others have managed to overcome it and enjoy it in the end, but I really couldn't get round it.
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22 people found this helpful
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- Sarah
- 04-07-19
Extraordinary writing
Beautiful, excruciatingly moving, illuminating and a book that gets totally below the skin. An unforgettable experience.
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7 people found this helpful
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- MS REBECCA WARREN
- 07-10-19
An Incredible Novel - Poetry
This is perhaps one of the best books I have ever listened to. At first I found the narration difficult, listened to the first 2 chapters and kept missing bits and having to go back. I persevered and was astounded. This guy can write he is a poet and the poetry is incredible. For such a young person to have the insight, intelligence, thoughtfulness and the ability to convey his story in the medium of poetry is just a bit mind blowing. Thank you Ocean Vuong and thank your mother for having you and your grandma for having her
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4 people found this helpful
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- tamara
- 01-08-19
An experiential monologue
I teared up a handful of times at how Ocean handles the prose, as well as the poetic tragedy + history of life. Through ritual, remedy and curiosity, the writer takes us on a journey of finding and sharing selfhood, of integrating identity into a biological as well as countrys family, of the privilege of language and the preservation of culture. He does this by a continuous ode to the woman, land and memories that came before him. This is a true treasured story. He explores themes we need to be highlighting, and does it in a way, that is so personal and honest and inquisitive, that it melts away the burdens the sentences often carry, because of their heaviness or drudgery in taking every step to get to the now. I can't wait for his next book. X
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2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 15-07-21
Beautiful, poetic portrait of deepest traumas
I've never read anything like it before. The book paints unspeakable events and tragedies in a soft poetic language. Imagine a watercolour painting of a war crime scene. Fascinating and important voice.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Henn
- 24-09-20
Not great as an Audio Book.
I found this book really hard to listen to. Did not enjoy it at all.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Stephanie
- 16-08-19
loved it
Delighted to have read this, such an interesting story. The author is interesting and articulate.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Naomi
- 13-08-19
listen to it and make up your own mind
I found this hard to listen to at first. the intensity of the subject matter the intensity of the authors voice and her rhythmic performance of the novel like listening to someone drawing deep breaths while running a marathon for their life.
but that's the point
beautiful fierce and delicate like a life
thank you ocean vuong
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1 person found this helpful
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- J. A. Gagliano
- 22-01-24
256 pages of verse
Firstly, the author is a man. i only realised this when I googled him, I had thought I was listening to a woman. I wondered how a woman had such insight into a gay mans experiences but that all makes sense now. The story is beautifully written in what sounds like verse, it's read like verse. The story jumps about in time which can be confusing. It has some very dark episodes (the monkey) which I wish I hadn't heard. Overall I would say its beautifully written, but I'm not sure I 'enjoyed' it.
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- hfffoman
- 15-01-24
Brilliant but annoying
After reaching the end I am convinced that Ocean Vuong is a superbly powerful and original voice in world literature.
However, in the interests of expressive power, all narrative clarity is abandoned, making it so frustrating I was tempted to quit several times. The choice of the author as narrator had a similar effect. He reads with an authentic expressive power, but unfortunately it was a pleasant to listen to as fingernails on a blackboard. For these reasons, my 4 star rating is generous. But I will read more of his work. With writing like this I wouldn't be surprised if his name came up in the context of a Nobel prize.
If you are interested in Vietnam, don't miss The Sympathiser, another masterpiece narrated by a blackboard voice but worth every minute.
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