In his novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Ocean Vuong tells the story of a young Vietnamese-American man, Little Dog, and his mother, Rose. Little Dog is struggling to find his place in the world and to understand his mother's past. He turns to writing as a way to express himself and to connect with his mother.
 
Vuong's writing is beautiful and lyrical. He captures the pain and confusion of Little Dog's search for identity. The novel is also a powerful portrait of a mother and son's relationship. Rose is a complex and fascinating character. She is fiercely protective of her son, but she also has her own secrets and struggles.
 
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is a moving and beautifully written novel about family, identity, and love.
 
Helen Frankenthaler was an American abstract expressionist painter. She is known for her unique method of "staining" canvases with thin washes of color, producing a vibrant and subtle look. The paint bleeds into the fabric and creates areas of transparency and color. This makes the canvas appear to be a window that allows light to pass through it.
 
Frankenthaler's paintings have been compared to musical compositions. The artist often uses a limited palette of colors, which she mixes on the canvas to create new hues. The result is a painting that is both harmonious and dissonant, like a piece of music. And her beautiful work has influenced many subsequent generations of artists, perhaps even Ocean Vuong.