The Emperor of Gladness

to remember is to fill the present with the past. this book feels like remembering everything. only past, filling the present. have you ever watched an A24 movie? yeah. the emperor of gladness is like walking through a dream you only half remember. from days when nothing happens to moments when everything comes crushing in. it was my first time reading ocean vuong, and definitely not the last. his words didn’t just sit on the page, they kind of… melted into me. like emotions you didn’t know you were carrying suddenly had a language. this book made me think, feel, remember. no flashy twists or wild plots. just raw, poetic life and somehow, that’s enough. xin cảm ơn vương quốc vinh.

What a great second novel! I really loved "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" and was very excited when Ocean Vuong announced this book. The topic is great and I fell in love with the characters easily, especially Sony. It could have been "queerer" for my taste, but I rushed through these pages nonetheless! I'll definitely read this a second time to highlight all the beautiful phrases and sentences that Ocean Vuong is famous for <3

As wonderfully poetic and beautiful as Ocean Voungs other work. This is a beautiful story of belonging and the small things we can do for other people. Finding yourselves in the most unlikely places and people, and how that changes a person.

Ocean Vuong has a way of writing that always gets to me. Almost as heartbreaking as it's beautiful. And of course, it's not only how he writes but also what he writes about. Stories of ordinary people that may get overlooked in most cases but still deserve to be heard. He manages to capture their lives so vividly that you can almost smell the Connecticut air. A story about people and their lives with all its ups and downs.