On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
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On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
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Narrated by:
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Ocean Vuong
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By:
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Ocean Vuong
About this listen
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**
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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)
What listeners say about On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ella O'Doherty
- 31-03-21
best book I've ever read
I read the book, and now use the audiobook for quiet relaxation. It is endlessly creative and brilliant in ways I have not seen before. It is beautiful.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- tinashe mandimika
- 24-02-21
Brilliant
Would strongly recommend for any readers out there dealing with grief.
Thank you very much OV
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- maria
- 02-07-20
Just beautiful
The stunning penmanship and 'gorgeous' imagery is so poignant and hypnotic it moved me immeasurably.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 14-06-22
PHENOMENAL
cannot begin to describe the emotions, the depth and range and the artistic flow of 'on earth'. def reading vuong 10/10
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- 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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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Elhana
- 31-10-20
Beautiful prose but better read the book
I started with the audiobook but somehow I couldn't get into it. So I bought the book and read it alongside the audio and it made the experience so much better. Some of the imageries and play on words cannot be communicated through the audio alone. And the gaps in the text are crucial in understanding the narrator's train of thoughts. Overall, I love the story for its depth, complexity, and richness of language. I'd recommend using the whisper-sync option, though, because listening to the audiobook alone took out the beauty of the prose (but reading alongside the audio made the experience of reading a lot more personal, esp. as the author read the letter himself).
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Kindle Customer
- 30-09-20
Lyrically and humanly beautiful
A poetic inter-twining of three family generations - the Vietnam War is a compelling backdrop.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jane Backeberg
- 24-12-20
Beautiful and moving
Exquisite prose which crystallises some nebulous truths about the human condition. Unflinching in its dissection of the complex relationships between the narrator and each of the significant people in his life.
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