On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

A touching novel-confession from a son to his mother about childhood, family, pain, and most importantly, love.

“Dear Ma!

I write to reach you, even if with each written word I move one word further away from where you are…”

“On this Earth, we are beautiful for only a moment” is a letter from the main character, Tsutsik, to his illiterate mother. Tsutsik writes it in his late twenties and depicts the story of their family, which began before his birth, a story that has its roots in Vietnam. The author depicts the complex but undeniable love between a single mother and her son. He also portrays with extreme honesty the issues of race, class, masculinity, and other modern, difficult aspects of present-day America, tainted by drug addiction, violence, and traumatic events, yet not without compassion and vulnerability. The question of how to survive and at the same time feel the joy of life lies at the heart of the most significant debut novel of recent years.