On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is a novel written as a letter from the main character, Little Dog, to his mother Hong, or Rose. Vuong incorporates poetry into the narrative structure of the novel. There are certain things that are difficult to articulate in prose, and so are better suited for verse, and that’s something Vuong utilizes to unveil a deeper level of the story. This novel touches on a variety of tragic topics in a beautiful way. Little Dog talks about his family’s lives in Vietnam during and after the war and before coming to America, his upbringing in America, his relationship with his first lover Trevor, and his experiences with death, loss, and violence. I think Little Dog’s story is, in some respects, a familiar one. Oftentimes, the lives of immigrants that come from countries destroyed by colonialism and American imperialism and intervention are wrought with violence and difficulty. This is articulated well as Little Dog’s mother and grandmother’s struggles are clear and they are still humanized despite their flaws.
Little Dog’s relationship with Trevor, his gayness, and American masculinity is also a key aspect of the novel. Spending time and being with Trevor exposed Little Dog to a different kind of pain. They were opposites in a lot of ways — immigrant versus native-born citizen, Asian American versus white, raised by mother versus father, and their views of homosexuality as representative of who they are and want to be versus the idea that it’s a phase. Despite their differences, in private they shared tenderness and a closeness that would not be allowed outside of their shared space, even without the aspects of homosexuality. On page 116, Little Dog says, “to be an American boy, then an American boy with a gun, is to move from one end of a cage to another.” America has rigid standards for masculinity that all men of color fall out of the boundaries of, but that doesn’t mean white men automatically fit. To be a man in America, one has to confine themself to a small area and never breach its borders. In acknowledging the austerity of American masculinity, Vuong also tells the reader that subscribing to it will not bring freedom.
I think On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous touches beautifully on how we inherit pain from our parents and families. Generational trauma is an issue that deeply impacts communities of color. To acknowledge that you have trauma from your upbringing (even if you never articulate it, similar to how Vuong spoke the events but never explicitly described the traumatic or lifelong effects of them), is to say that your parents are not perfect. That is an especially painful thing to do. It’s hard to say that your parent has hurt you, particularly when they are your only present parent and when you know that they love you. It can feel like a betrayal or ungratefulness to think about how our parents have harmed us, that’s an internal thing. And it can be even harder to know that if you actually take your grievances to your parent, they may not be receptive out of hurt or anger. It feels like you are never able to get to the root of your issues because you are unable to direct your words to the person who was a part of several of them.
I think in our society, especially in communities where life is already harder because of oppressive systems and poverty, it is hard to be tender and to love people (children in particular) in a way that does not impart harm unto them. You don’t show love through violence, but unfortunately, the contrary is customary in our world. Natural inclinations toward gentleness have been beaten out of us for so long that to be soft is to be weak. I feel for Lan, Hong, and Little Dog so much because their lives illustrate how the violence that permeates the world around us can seep into interpersonal relationships. Unfortunately, the home lives of those that are victims of state and systemic violence can reflect that pain. I think it is a testament to human resiliency and leniency (and perhaps the great human need for acceptance, affection, and community) that after being exposed to violence a child should not experience we are still able to look to our families with love and compassion. However, I also believe that this should not have to continue beyond that, that the pain we experience as children should not be passed down to our children or any other person we may encounter. We can love our parents despite their flaws, but it is more important to want them to be better and for us to avoid adopting those same flaws.
Vuong, Ocean. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. Penguin Press, 2019.
