I have a profound admiration for literary fiction. I love how words are stringed together to create a manifestation of human emotions; a testimony of the life that we lived through. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, is a letter written by a son to his illiterate mother, an attempt to reach out in the way he knows best–language. 

Ocean Vuong crafted a narrative that is deeply rooted in his personal experiences as a son, a grandson, an immigrant, and a lover which bleeds through the writing of this novel. He has managed to put into words emotions and sensations that I could not convey in such clarity. I had seen an interview where Ocean explained why the narrator was named Little Dog by his mother. He said that in their village in Vietnam it is tradition to name a child after, particularly, the smallest, weakest child, after the most despicable things. It is a way to deter evil spirits who come hunting for children, in a way, a name “becomes a cloak, becomes a shield”. 

After knowing that I looked back to this particular quote from the book:

I was stunned, and filled with astonishment, to find out that such power lies behind a name. Language is the thread that interweaves different elements of life–culture, race, and belief. This novel is an astounding exploration of discovering self-identity, that sheds light on narratives that are never often talked about such as the consequences of war on women, and its aftermath.