The Emperor of Gladness
A novel about love, loss, and the power of connection
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Publishing:15th May '25
£20.00
This title is due to be published on 15th May, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
A heartfelt exploration of friendship and healing, The Emperor of Gladness follows Hai's journey of self-discovery through an unlikely bond with an elderly widow.
In The Emperor of Gladness, Ocean Vuong weaves a poignant narrative centered around the themes of chosen family and unexpected friendship. Set in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, the story unfolds on a stormy summer evening when nineteen-year-old Hai finds himself at a crossroads, contemplating a leap into the unknown. His life takes an unexpected turn when he encounters Grazina, an elderly widow battling dementia, whose voice calls him back from the brink. This chance meeting leads to a profound bond that transforms both their lives, highlighting the importance of empathy and human connection.
As the unlikely caretakers navigate their intertwined fates, The Emperor of Gladness explores the complexities of love, labor, and loneliness that shape the American experience. The narrative delves into the cycles of history and memory, revealing how these elements influence personal and communal identities. Through the lens of Hai and Grazina’s relationship, Vuong offers a brave exploration of existence on society's fringes and the healing power of shared stories.
With a distinctive writing style characterized by formal innovation and emotional depth, Vuong captures the essence of loss and hope. The novel invites readers to reflect on the wounds that linger in our collective consciousness and the lengths we go to achieve redemption and a second chance at life. Ultimately, The Emperor of Gladness is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative nature of love.
The Emperor of Gladness is a poetic, dramatic and vivid story. It has an epic sweep but it also handles intimacy and love with delicacy and deep originality. Its two main characters - the young Hai, so smart and troubled and ready for the world, and Grazina, who carries the weight of history as both burden and rare wisdom - are taken from the margins of American life by Ocean Vuong and, by dint of great sympathy and imaginative genius, placed at the very center of our world -- Colm Tóibín
[An] innovative, playful novel’ * Financial Times, *Books to Look Out For 2025* *
Sad, haunting but ultimately hopeful this is a gut punch and an warm embrace rendered out of poetic, tender prose * AnOther, *Books to Look Out For 2025* *
Praise for Ocean Vuong * On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous *
This is some of the most moving writing I’ve read… The tenderness of the prose feels like a triumph against a world hellbent on embittering the tenderhearted… the truths arrived at in this book are valuable precisely because they are steeped in feeling * New York Times *
Vuong’s determination to see well-trodden ground afresh, with unremitting complexity, is extremely rare... An exciting talent * Sunday Times *
Vuong is a prodigious talent, his handling of words and images both brutal and delicate, his treatment of violence, sex and the body radically clear-eyed * Financial Times *
A stunning, beautiful book... His writing is phenomenal... Simply brilliant * BBC Radio 4 Saturday Review *
A deeply moving book – I welled up roughly every 40 pages… one of the great strengths of this book is the way it elevates the personal into the political. Little Dog’s story is the story of modern America * Daily Telegraph *
Vuong mines his extraordinary family story with passion and beauty… Vuong writes wonderfully -- Tessa Hadley * Guardian *
ISBN: 9781787335400
Dimensions: 240mm x 156mm x 40mm
Weight: 750g
416 pages