Questions About On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

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Sabine I thought it was in the title. That we have this fleeting moment on earth and in that moment there is pain and suffering but also this joy, in small t…moreI thought it was in the title. That we have this fleeting moment on earth and in that moment there is pain and suffering but also this joy, in small things, of being alive, of having love that is authentic.
From pg 231:
"All this time I told myself we were born from war-but I was wrong Ma. We were born from beauty.
Let no one mistake us fro the fruit of violence-but that the violence, having passed through the fruit, failed to spoil it."(less)

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Did any of you make sense of the reference to Monarch butterflies at the beginning and end of this novel?

MacGregor Obergfell I thought the butterflies symbolize his life journey. They do not know where they are going - the journey is imprinted in their subconscious. Much in …moreI thought the butterflies symbolize his life journey. They do not know where they are going - the journey is imprinted in their subconscious. Much in the same way the butterflies have to trust their instincts and those who came before them and overcome hardships on a seemingly never-ending journey, so too is Little Dog doing the same in his life. (less)

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Having a hard time finishing this book. Anyone else?

Jerry Dalinka Gave up rare book I did not finish. I felt as I was punishing myself.

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I couldn't finish this book. It's just too painful and raw, even all these years after the American war in Vietnam. I wonder if there are others of my generation - children of those who served - who find such books and movies too painful? Eight years of my childhood and early adulthood were overshadowed by the war and its pain and suffering, on both sides... Enough.

Judy Lindow I can't imagine what some people go through. Just harrowing. I think trauma - from the smallest to the most brutal - are with us for a lifetime. How m…moreI can't imagine what some people go through. Just harrowing. I think trauma - from the smallest to the most brutal - are with us for a lifetime. How much they direct us depends on many things. I'd like to believe we could control and be ultimately responsible for how much and in what ways they effect us - but realistically there are other determinants, like timing, socio-economics, luck -- being disciplined and denying them would never be enough to erase trauma. Of course no one wants trauma to direct or determine their life - or even color our lives in darkness. However, I think it is best for me, at least, to know that cruelty and violence co-exist (in fact cannot be denied or in some cases, like in seeing what happens in the world) with beauty and compassion. More actions and love are expressed by being aware of our imperfect world that by shutting our eyes. Yes, even though it's hard to read books like this and There, There for example, it's important and it softens the blow somewhere in the world and my life.(less)

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Is this autobiographical?

Jolene While reading this, I thought a lot of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Obviously there's the Vietnam War connection, but there's also that who…moreWhile reading this, I thought a lot of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Obviously there's the Vietnam War connection, but there's also that whole section about how to tell a "true" war story and can a story be "true" without being accurate to something that happened in real life. I love thinking of these two texts together.

Here's the link to the O'Brien chapter if anyone's unfamiliar: http://cds.library.brown.edu/projects...(less)

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