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The Emperor of Gladness

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The Emperor of Gladness

By: Ocean Vuong
Narrated by: James Aaron Oh
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.


THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

College dropout Hai doesn’t know how to face the future until a chance meeting with elderly widow Grazina changes his life.

One late summer evening in the town of East Gladness, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow.

From this moment, his second chance begins. Over the course of the year, Hai’s story takes new and unexpected turns, as his life-altering bond with Grazina transforms his relationship to the community, his family and, most powerfully of all, to himself.

‘Heartbreaking’ Guardian

‘Dramatic and vivid’ Colm Tóibín

‘Beautiful’ Oprah Winfrey

‘His most vivid, ambitious work yet’ Dazed

(C) Ocean Vuong 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

 Coming of Age Friendship Genre Fiction LGBTQIA+ Creators Literary Fiction Survival Feel-Good

Critic reviews

A fine-grained social panorama driven by the developing camaraderie of an ensemble cast bonded in precariousness and pain
Depicts the emotions of its protagonists with a sensitivity and lusciousness… contains moments of almost unbearable poignancy
Firmly grounded and perfectly tuned… With its poetic morsels, ambivalent love for the rural northeast, and many-layered immigrant stories, The Emperor of Gladness may well be the first millennial Great American Novel
Heartbreaking, heartwarming yet unsentimental, and savagely comic all at the same time, The Emperor of Gladness is about just how wobbly things can become
Tender and moving, The Emperor of Gladness is about people on the margins of society and sanity. To my surprise and delight, Vuong’s novel is also wryly, subtly, wittily - and sometimes outrageously - a comedy as well as a tragedy (Rebecca Solnit)
His most vivid, ambitious work yet
Remarkable... A sui generis take on the surprising and cruel ways violence is passed on across generations
[A] heartbreaking epic… Witten in Vuong’s inimitable prose…[it] will doubtless be counted among the great American novels
A masterwork (Bryan Washington)
This stunning book moved me so much, I fell in love with its characters and grieved their absence in my life when I turned the last page (Caitríona Balfe)
All stars
Most relevant
I adored this book! I’ve been a fan of Vuong since discovering his poetry. All his books capture me with their emotional depth. Highly recommend.

Poetic as always

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A very complicated book, in my opinion. Overall, the book is all right but I found the storyline a bit too complicated, with a lot of characters and sometimes a little too difficult to follow, Narration is good and helps. I did my best to finish the book. The best character in the book is Grazina and I also liked the relationship between her and Hai.

A very complicated book!

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The author writes beautifully and has many beautiful descriptive passages but there isn't really a story as such, more a rambling collection of insights and introspection. There are some great characters and relationships and he develops the inherent goodness in some people and the lies we tell ourselves and others. The materialistic dysfunctional side of the USA is well highlighted.
It really drags at times but the pathetic flawed characters keep you in the game as you root for a better life for them.
I think there are many layers to this complex book. but I wont be recommending it generally. You have to work hard and invest, to make it to the finish.

Rambling

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Who’s the real caregiver here — Hai or Grazina? Either way this book is sad and funny af.

Funny, depressing with all the good quotes

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A truly magnificent book. So rich and deep. The characters felt truly alive and will stay with me for a long time. Not a light subject but believable. Courageous unpredictable ending (unlike so many other novels which seem to be written just to please and cheer the reader, many of which I have abandoned near the end!) My only thought is I wonder if the slaughterhouse chapter was just a bit too gratuitous?
My thanks and gratitude to the author.

Powerful. Magnificent!

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