On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

** The Sunday Times and New York Times Bestseller **

Brilliant, heartbreaking and highly original, Ocean Vuong’s debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, and a testament to the redemptive power of storytelling.

‘A marvel’ MARLON JAMES

This is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family’s history that began before he was born. It tells of Vietnam, of the lasting impact of war, and of his family’s struggle to forge a new future. And it serves as a doorway into parts of Little Dog’s life his mother has never known – episodes of bewilderment, fear and passion – all the while moving closer to an unforgettable revelation.

‘A masterpiece’
MAX PORTER

‘Luminous, shattering, urgent, necessary’
CELESTE NG

‘Deeply moving… Little Dog’s story is the story of modern America’
Daily Telegraph

‘Vuong has originality running through his veins’
The Times

NOW LONGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2020