The Emperor of Gladness
ABOUT
THE BOOK
Ocean Vuong returns with an achingly beautiful novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive
One summer evening in the town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on a bridge, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond.
The Emperor of Gladness shows the profound ways in which our lives are changed by the most unexpected of people.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
The author’s personal history epitomizes our city. Those whose lives have been disrupted by upheaval in their home countries have never stopped landing in Hartford. In The Emperor of Gladness Vuong etches the stubborn endurance, sudden grace and pockets of trust that preserve the displaced, unmoored and struggling person. His prose and characters are so very engaging, the book is hard to put down and yet it must be read slowly to absorb his abundant story. (Hartford Public Library)