This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you—if you make a purchase.
I usually read fantasy.
That’s where I feel most at home — in worlds of magic, dragons, and quests that pull me far from the one I live in.
But I came across this book on TikTok, and something in me just… paused.
I didn’t even think.
I just knew.
This was the one I needed to read next.
What It’s About
This book is an epistolary novel — a word I didn’t know until this story taught me.
It means the book is written in letters, poems, and diary entries.
And in this case, those entries are written from the author — Ocean Vuong — to his mother.
His illiterate mother.
Someone who will never be able to understand what he’s saying… but he writes it anyway.
I was only a few pages in when I started crying.
Why It Meant So Much
Ocean Vuong doesn’t just tell a story — he feels every word.
And as a reader, you feel them too.
His memories are fragile and violent.
Gentle and aching.
Soaked in longing.
He recalls his past with such precision that the smallest details carry entire universes of meaning.
You start to realize how deeply every moment has shaped him.
And if you’ve ever tried to explain your own pain — especially to someone who might never understand it — this book reaches in and sits quietly with you there.
It’s a story of grief, identity, trauma, family, queerness, and survival.
But more than that, it’s about how writing becomes a lifeline when there’s nothing else left.
My Rating
10/10.
Without hesitation.
This book touched a part of me that is very fragile.
It’s the kind of story that makes you cry, then sit in silence for a while after the last page — not because it hurt you, but because it healed you.
As of now, this is my favorite book I’ve ever read.
And I honestly don’t know if anything else will ever hit me quite like this one did.
Final Thoughts
Even if you don’t usually read contemporary fiction…
Even if you’re more into plot-heavy stories…
Even if you’ve never read a book in letters before…
Read On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous.
I truly believe this is one of those rare books that anyone can connect with.
Because in the end, it’s not about a specific experience.
It’s about being human.
And sometimes, that’s the most powerful story of all.