On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous (2019) by Ocean Vuong

 1001 Novels: A Library of America

On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous (2019)

by Ocean Vuong

Hartford, Connecticut

Connecticut: 9/9

    Here we are at the end of Connecticut and almost the end of Chapter One of the 1001 Novels: A Library of America Project, Pointed Firs, Granite Coves & Revolution.   I actually read On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous- bought the hard back in fact, but never posted a review because... I just didn't have much to say about it- Vuong comes from a background in poetry, and On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous is a poetic bildungsroman adjacent tale about growing up in rust-belt Connecticut from the perspective of an LGBT teen/young adult.   I remember enjoying the fact of the location- rust belt New England, and the fact that the POV was that of an Asian-American immigrant who did not come from a privileged background.   

  Even though I grew up in the Bay Area I knew few Asian-American families who were disadvantaged.  This wasn't the case for white kids I knew- my prep school had plenty of disadvantaged white, black and latino students but no disadvantaged Asian student.   Same thing in college.  In law school I finally met some Asian-Americans from working class backgrounds, but they were high achievers.  Anyway, it's all to say that I appreciated Vuong's POV and I think it's a great addition to the canon of American bildungsromans.