On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

by Ocean Vuong
Nov 10-24, 2019

This one was a challenge! What at first seemed a little self-indulgent on the author's part, soon became apparent that Vuong, most simply put, is a poet. People are raving of the beauty in his prose, and I can't disagree, but the sleepy, poetic quality really just disconnected me from the story and the protagonist. It was difficult to form any emotional investment around Little Dog, his mother, or his grandmother.

The novel, written as a letter to Little Dog's illiterate mother, jumped in timeline and stories, but wasn't difficult to follow. The book boasts an "unforgettable revelation," and there were plenty of times that I thought I could see the foreshadowing on the wall, only to be wrong time and time again. Finally, for me, said revelation was a complete letdown, and so quietly revealed, that I nearly missed it.

"What were we before we were we?"

(Beautiful, but not "the" revelation.) A bit of a slow burn with some excruciatingly graphic scenes; maybe a little too abstract for my tastes.

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The City of Flickering Light

by Juliette Fay
Oct 23-Nov10, 2019

In the span of just one year, two strippers burlesque dancers and one tagalong get everything they ever wanted. That shallow description pretty much sums up the effort given to forming the plot of this book. So many reviews that I read lauded the author for her extensive research (if I read one more review that says how well-researched this book is!), but none of that really matters when the final result is so poorly executed. The descriptions and dialogue are meant to suggest the essence of the roaring 20s, but instead it comes off sophomoric and quite corny.

"She nodded and looked away to hide the gratitude in her eyes."

Huh?

Pick a hot topic and you'll find it within the pages. Rape, murder, pregnancy and drug abuse are just the beginning of the list. The result is almost laughably predictable, and again, seemingly a tactic to imbue a sign of the times. It's as if the author didn't give the reader enough credit to understand what was happening without dumbing it down  – I'm looking at you, Author's Note. Thanks, but I think I got it.

"The silence from Irene’s side of the bed was loud."

Well OK, then.

Overall, a completely non-challenging, quick read of an implausible "isn't-Hollywood-grand" stereotype. 2-1/2 stars.

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