Unabridged Audiobook
This book is a somewhat enjoyable memoir of a young gay man’s teenage years and his first true love with another slightly older boy. There are also long passages regarding his relationship with his grandmother and his abusive, possibly bipolar mother. It has somewhat graphic depictions of his sexual relationship with his friend, so keep that in mind if this could make you uncomfortable. The biggest obstacle of this book to get over however was listening to the narrator’s voice. He is very delicate and reminiscent of Michael Jackson. Be sure to listen to the audio sample before purchasing.
Read for Queer Lit and theory. This book is more akin to poetry than it is typical novel prose, much like epic poetry. And like epic poetry, Ocean Vuong takes us on a journey of hardship, danger, and learning. There’s a lot to be gained by reading this book, and there’s a lot to analyze. I thought that this book was fine. I didn’t find it as profound as many other people did, but I’m sure that’s just a personal thing. It was beautifully written, but I can’t help but think that it might have been better as a poetry book. I think many of the themes could have been more intricately explored as traditional poetry. Maybe it’s just because I enjoyed Time Is a Mother more, but still. This book was a solid 3 stars. It didn’t blow my socks off, but it was a fine read.
For me this was a poetic stream of thoughts that ultimately inform the reader about the life of Ocean, his mother, and grandparents. There were some beautiful, moving passages but overall it was hard to follow. The story is almost told in a spiral rather than any timeline. I appreciate how candid the author is in sharing his life story. Unfortunately, the narration didn’t work for me. I felt as if he was whispering his way through and it became quite annoying.
I had a hard time getting through this book, although it was beautifully written. It was very sad and the narrator sounded so desperate always. The writer certainly is aware of life and each word was carefully chosen. Just not my cup of tea.
Amazing writing. Telling of mental illnesses in the subaltern marginalized voice. A bit more sexually explicit than I expected though.
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