387
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #55,885 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★☆☆☆
Overrated; Approach Carefully
The only reason why I'm giving it two stars is because Ocean Vuong has an ability to craft language in beautiful ways (he IS a poet) and I enjoyed it along with the epistolary format. However, there were plenty of moments when I wanted to toss the book, but the stellar reviews (I pre-ordered) and the promise of finding--to no avail--a "brilliant" and "remarkable" read with "powerful" emotions kept me going. An absolutely flat story, and an average account of the common hardships that minorities and immigrants face adapting to the U.S. It romanticizes an aggressor and abuser and is deceiving of what it means to be compassionate or forgiving. The novel tells an all-too-common process of discovery and acceptance, which the majority of us face (or will face) at some point in our lives, but falsely builds and sells itself as a different and unique concept. The book has a hidden agenda and is misleading in the "brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity." This is not a book for people going through a healing process, survivors of violence, addicts, with low resilience, or those that are mentally or emotionally susceptible. I agree with another reviewer that it can be triggering to some, especially those with unresolved trauma or currently in a healing process. It is a piece that should be approached cautiously as it can be more detrimental than helpful for the most vulnerable in our society. If that is what was meant by the "power of poetry," then it is powerful--except not in the right ways. Disappointed.
