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On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
- Narrated by: Ocean Vuong
- Length: 7 hrs and 19 mins
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On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
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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**
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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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- 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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- Molly
- 29-01-20
one of my favourite audiobooks ever
I finished this and immediately wanted to listen again. Amazing, breathtaking writing and gorgeous reading.
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- VMJ
- 20-06-20
Unashamed beauty and rawness
It hurt to listen to this beautiful book. Don’t expect a story to roll out in chapters. It’s not until you reach the end that you understand fully the layered approach to telling a life. The language is beautiful, lyrical and the pain visceral. It is an experience. To say I enjoyed it would be trite. I’m glad I decided to hear it to the end.
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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