Staff Pick
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
by Ocean Vuong
AUCK ON ITS WAY
WGTN IN STOCK
Pages:
256
Published:
15 Sept 2020
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Penguin Random House
Imprint
Vintage
ISBN:
9781529110685
** Sunday Times Bestseller **
Brilliant, heart-breaking and highly original, TikTok has fallen in love with Ocean Vuong's shattering portrait of a family.
This 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. It tells of Vietnam, of the lasting impact of war, and of his family's struggle to forge a new future. It serves as a doorway into parts of Little Dog's life his mother has never known - episodes of bewilderment, fear and passion - all the while moving closer to an unforgettable revelation.
'A marvel' Marlon James
'Luminous, shattering, urgent, necessary' Celeste Ng
Brilliant, heart-breaking and highly original, TikTok has fallen in love with Ocean Vuong's shattering portrait of a family.
This 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. It tells of Vietnam, of the lasting impact of war, and of his family's struggle to forge a new future. It serves as a doorway into parts of Little Dog's life his mother has never known - episodes of bewilderment, fear and passion - all the while moving closer to an unforgettable revelation.
'A marvel' Marlon James
'Luminous, shattering, urgent, necessary' Celeste Ng
$24.00
I especially love the title of this novel. It reads like a memoir, a tender but raw letter from a son to his illiterate mother. This is a beautifully intimate and sometimes painful exploration of gender, sexuality, and race as the young protagonist grapples with society's expectations of masculinity.
Roger, Unity Books auckland
