Karsten Caparas > Recent Status Updates

Once I’ve picked this book up, I couldn’t put it down.

An interesting read post-Covid.

I'm not sure how I feel about this book.

In some ways, I'm enjoying a lot of the journey of the characters with the game development. In a lot of ways, I feel somewhat critical and annoyed at how the characters are written, and some of the ways they are described. It's currently a constant push and pull of enjoying myself and being annoyed at what I'm reading.

The writing style makes it very easy to follow the story so far. Chapters are quite short and succinct but I’m often surprised by how fast the story progresses.

I don’t have a lot of knowledge regarding Greek mythology and history, but the narrator’s voice and viewpoint echoes the same feelings a reader like me who are unfamiliar to Greek mythology. The narrator’s perspective helps readers like me tether to the emotional undercurrents of the story unfolding.

So far this book has only been frustrating me with its (seemingly intentional?) ambiguity with details juxtaposed with sudden declarations. At times the tone of the books feels like its telling me how I should feel and process the storytelling.

I will keep reading as I'm almost done, but the impression I have of it so far is that it is pretentious. I'm waiting to be proven wrong and my patience is being tested.

I’ve been falling asleep as I read this book and it felt like it took me forever to read these first few pages. Maybe I’m just tired. But I feel like nothing is happening yet.

The book continues to explore questions regarding what consent looks like in various context and situations.

The book also questions the effectiveness of therapy as a treatment, and norms regarding relationships.

Just whenever I think the book can’t become tougher to read, it proves me wrong. Yet, I can’t stop to put it down.

This book should have a trigger warning. It’s not a book for those who may be going through some difficult situations.

My last update mentions a character I hate - now I got another to add to the list.

The last hundred pages I’ve read so far were difficult to read due the emotional weight of the situation, but so difficult to turn away from.

Found my least favourite character. But he’s a great foil to Jude.

The chapter I’ve just read is from Willem’s POV and it’s further exploration of queer platonic relationships.

The parts I’ve read so far captures how pain and hope are often intertwined.

Learning more about Jude at this point of the book.

Yanagihara’s writing can take tropes or plot points that seem predictable or overdone and still make them carry a lot of the emotional weight — the impact still heavy and felt.

The characters feel real and believable. They’re all likeable and annoying in their own ways; they’re flawed but you get a clear picture where they’re coming from and what makes them who they are (except Jude so far).

The writing style is very easy to follow and somehow very fluid. The first chapter gives a very clear picture on who the four main characters are and what they’re all about.

The writing seamlessly transitions between the characters, and the voice of the narration seems to subtlety match the characteristics of the character being explored.

I’m still read through the set up. A lot of repetition in terms of rhythm in the writing. Going on and on and on about the words like this. But I don’t mind it so far, but it is getting old quick. It doesn’t help that the POV switching reinforces that repetition as it covers the same event but just from a different character’s viewpoint, and I don’t feel like I’m getting anywhere as I read.

High school vibes and love triangles. Not my usual picks. I’ll keep an open mind but we’ll see how I end up liking this.

Beautifully written and very poetic so far. There are times it feels distracting from the story as it feels so deliberate in the word choices and it feels so carefully crafted. Ex: “Heart is broken in two” followed by a line “As in, broken into”. I appreciate it, but I’m forced to look at writing techniques.

The writing voice is fluid and often reflects the emotional state of the narrator; it’s fun.

I’ve only finished Act II so far.

Vuong paints fairly bleak picture of life. The grass is never really greener on the other side. Whenever there could be moments of beauty, or some semblance that life could be better — pain and sorrow are rarely ever out of the picture.

The title is starting to make sense: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.

Sad and touching. Lots of generation trauma explored.

The writing style is very rhythmic and poetic. The word choices and the sentence structures are very intentional and really written for effect. I’ve only read the first chapter so far and immediately I feel sad (and I can tell I’ll be wallowing around each time I make progress with this book).