RaveThe Philadelphia InquirerVuong sketches out the novel’s characters with a poet’s hand, capturing intimate conversations and moments through stunningly lyrical prose that grounds the book despite its non-linear narrative structure ... the book is first and foremost a love letter to language. Little Dog never takes his mastery of it for granted ... We are witnessing something necessary and powerful with On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, which asks us to search what is human in us and ask what it really means to be alive, to seek truth within the mess that is life. For Vuong, the answer is clear: It is to love without fear, despite violence, through bonds created with words.
Catherine Banner
PositiveThe Denver Post...brims with heart, dreamy folk tales and beautifully written passages about the people who call the island home ... Banner fills her pages with love, heartbreak, loss, grudges, forgiveness and redemption ... a perfect summer read, made for those balmy evenings on your porch with a glass of wine.
