Poetry, but in prose

I studied Ocean Vuong’s poetry at uni. His poems tell stories: of him and his mum, immigration, war, language and more. Stories that break your heart especially if you think how relevant they still are today. I liked his poetry, so I kept an eye out for his novel ‘On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous’.

This is a beautiful book. If you try to analyse it from a typical novel point of view, there’s not much to say, in my opinion. But this is like poetry. Vuong plays with language and metaphors and style. He tells a story. It’s not a linear story with developing characters or anything like that, but it’s a story nonetheless. If you like beautiful words that play around in front of your eyes and if you like poetry, this is perfect for you.

I must admit, it’s not my favourite book of all time. Even though I learned to appreciate poetry, I’m still a prose person. I’m enjoying Vuong, don’t get me wrong. His way of telling the story of Little Dog and his Ma is simply mesmerising. But I can’t wait to finish it and start the YA fantasy novel that’s next on my list.