On earth we are briefly gorgeous

[HotTiredDog]

Has anyone read this & if so, how did you get on with it?
I’m 1/3 in & finding it hard to get settled; seems a bit repetitive & with a weak plot. Am I just not understanding it properly & should I just try harder to get to grips with it??
I’m not normally one for giving up on a book!
Thanks.

I didn’t get very far in at all to the extent that I barely remember it. I had the feeling that if the author had ’killed his darlings’ he’d have had to have deleted the whole manuscript.
There are too many great books in the world to waste time finishing mediocre ones!

had the feeling that if the author had ’killed his darlings’ he’d have had to have deleted the whole manuscript.
😂Yep, that's pretty much how I felt too. Interestingly, I read it in a book club where we all come from all over the place and none of the Brits liked it. I think we have a low- tolerance threshold for self-indulgent writing.

I didn’t get on with it.

Look up the recent LRB takedown of Vuong if you want a real eyebrow raiser!

Thank you all, I feel vindicated!

‘scuse my ignorance though @PurpleChraynbut who is LRB? I’d like to read that takedown.

This is one of the very few books I have ever DNF’d.

Self-indulgent codswallop.

Is this the one you are referring to @PurpleChrayn ?

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v47/n11/tom-crewe/my-hands-in-my-face

I loved the cover…!

I was also reading it for book group! Perhaps I might have liked it better if I hadn’t ‚had‘ to read it.

Oh my word, the LRB certainly didn’t like On Earth!! Love the detailed takedown, it was much better to read than its subject
Unfortunately for Vuong, I don’t think I’ll be reading the Emperor.
Thanks for the link, @MyGodMyThighs

Oh no, I am running against the grain here but I did appreciate it. It was a while ago, but if i remember well, in the latter stages especially there are some quite beautiful passages of prose, and genuine emotional shock. It’s at its strongest when he draws comparisons between his family’s life in Vietnam and in the US; probably weakest when comparing himself to Tiger Woods 🥲

I did read it on a long haul flight so I had the time to get through it in one sitting, and perhaps the jet lag helped? Am also not a full Brit and have moderate tolerance for pretentiousness so there you go!

@Cocorico22thanks for providing balance!

I've had this on my TBR for ages, I think I'll give it a miss.

O.M.G. ... 😬😬😬😬😬

I know right @Beachtastic 😬

I felt the same sense of vindication reading that as I did reading the recent takedowns of Elizabeth Gilbert.

I just can’t stand the faux sincerity and lofty earnestness of these authors - while very different they both give me a similar ick.

@MyGodMyThighs Yes, awful to see pretentious affectation widely accepted as clever and illuminating... and very satisfying to see the bubble pricked!

Completely agree about Elizabeth Gilbert. How do you feel about Paulo Coelho?

Not sure if you're asking me, but: ghastly. The Alchemist was absolute drivel, I've no idea why it's so popular! Pompous, coy delivery of mystical secrets that turn out to be the sort of wisdom you could capture in less than 5 minutes just from chatting to anyone at the bus stop.

Think I’ll get a sample of Coelho & Gilbert to enjoy their pretentious nonsense!
Fully agree with the analysis of these self-indulgent modern writers (and I’m saying that cos it’s true not cos I’m old - although I am!)

Couldn‘t agree more! Where I used to live the library‘s social media was run by a woman who used around 50% of her posts to make fun of Paulo Coelho. I think he’s a writer for non-readers.

For Elizabeth Gilbert try these:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/aug/30/eat-pray-love-author-elizabeth-gilbert-leaving-marriage-dying-friend
https://archive.ph/iz7BJ

(Her fiction is actually OK, I liked City of Girls. It’s just the non-fiction where she lets the narcissism out.)

And for Coelho I find Veronika Decides to Die a pretty good example of how awful he is.

Oh I remember starting to read that article in the Guardian & losing the will after a couple of paragraphs, @APatternGrammar