“On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous,” by the awardwinning VietnameseAmerican poet and novelist Ocean Vuong,is already one of the bestreviewed novels of 2019. In this debut, a semiautobiographical comingofage drama of sorts, Vuong beautifully tackles trauma, immigration, queerness and memory.

He sits down with VICE to talk about the process of writing his first novel, the power of language, the social microcosm of the nail salon and why his mom won’t look at him when she goes to his readings.

Audiobook excerpts: On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, Narrated by the author (Penguin Random House)

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