Reading Order
On Earth We Were Briefly GorgeousOn Earth We Were Briefly Gorgeous Reading Order
Ocean Vuong's On Earth We Were Briefly Gorgeous (2019) is the debut novel by the celebrated Vietnamese-American poet — an autobiographical letter from a son to his illiterate mother, covering his childhood in Hartford, Connecticut, his relationship with a farmworker named Trevor, addiction, and Vietnam. Vuong's background as a poet is evident on every page; the novel is one of the most praised debut novels of the 2010s and established Vuong as a major figure in contemporary American literature alongside his poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds (2016).
Where to start
On Earth We Were Briefly Gorgeous
Complete On Earth We Were Briefly Gorgeous Book List
- 1Buy
On Earth We Were Briefly Gorgeous
Ocean Vuong·2019·Start here — the only novel Vuong has published; his other major work is the poetry collection Night Sky with Exit Wounds (2016).
On Earth We Were Briefly Gorgeous — Frequently Asked Questions
Is On Earth We Were Briefly Gorgeous based on a true story?
The novel is autobiographical in many of its details — Vuong was born in Ho Chi Minh City, came to the United States as a child, grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, and the book's portrait of the narrator's Vietnamese immigrant family, drug addiction in rural New England, and early sexual experience are drawn from his life. Vuong has described it as a novel rather than a memoir, which gives him more freedom in the telling, but its emotional truth is his own.
What should I read next after On Earth We Were Briefly Gorgeous?
Vuong readers continue with Night Sky with Exit Wounds (2016), his debut poetry collection, which covers many of the same themes as the novel in verse. For readers who loved the novel's quality of prose, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Vietnam from the other side), Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (Korean diaspora over generations), and Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (another formally ambitious novel of grief and American history) are strong companions.
Monthly Newsletter
Never miss a big release
Get the most anticipated upcoming books delivered to your inbox once a month — no spam, no filler.
Monthly only. Unsubscribe anytime.
Book links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, BookReleaseRadar earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.