Ocean’s poetry collection, Night Sky With Exit Wounds has been an international phenomenon, winning many awards including the T S Eliot Prize, which is rarely given to a debut. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous is an emotional, moving novel about language, family and story-telling. The novel takes the form of a letter written by a son to his mother who cannot read, a paradox which allows the structure of the writing to jump around and play with usual linear narratives. Narrated by ‘Little Dog’, a Vietnamese American in his late twenties, the letter explores a family history rooted in war and displacement, and soon reveals parts of the son's life his mother can never know - a story that we can’t help but feel echoes Vuong's own early life experiences as a refugee.