This bestseller sat on my shelf for two years before I had the courage to read it. I knew it would wreck me, and wreck me it did. Through a son’s letter to his mother, we learn the story of Little Dog and the meaning of love, loss, family, and belonging. Ocean Vuong creates a surreal experience of the senses, redefining the meaning of narrative — each page more breathtaking than the last. As someone who rarely keeps fiction past the first read, this one has a permanent place on my bookshelf.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, (List Price: $18, Penguin Books, 9780525562047, June 2021)
Reviewed by RC Collman, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina