{"id":52146,"date":"2025-07-09T19:16:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T19:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/52146\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T19:16:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T19:16:11","slug":"the-emperor-of-gladness-by-ocean-vuong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/52146\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Emperor of Gladness’ by Ocean Vuong"},"content":{"rendered":"

Looking for your next read? Welcome to Bazaar Book Chat<\/a>, an inside look at our editors\u2019 Slack channel, where we candidly review the latest literary releases.<\/p>\n

The Emperor of Gladness: A Novel<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez (senior news editor)
<\/strong>Hi @here, welcome to another month of Bazaar Book Chat! This June we read The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. The book follows the life of Hai, a 20-year-old who lives in a Connecticut town called East Gladness. Hai suffers from addiction and struggles with finding his purpose, though he ends up finding surprising comfort in his estranged cousin, a group of misfits he works with, and an elderly lady, Grazina, who becomes his close friend.<\/p>\n

First thoughts? How did you feel reading this?<\/p>\n

Sarah Olivieri (senior designer)
<\/strong>This is typically not a book I would gravitate toward if I saw it in the store, but I thought it was incredibly well written. The first chapter where he is describing the town was so beautiful and vivid. Such a great way to set the scene of Gladness.<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ariana Marsh (senior features editor)
<\/strong>I totally agree, that first chapter was magical\u2014I haven\u2019t read prose as beautiful and florid (In a good way!) as that in a long time.<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
Agree. Ocean is such a beautiful writer, and so while the themes he explores in this book\u2014loneliness, the need for family, regret, loss, addiction\u2014are really very depressing, the way he tells stories feels so poetic and magical to me no matter what. <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc963<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alcheck (senior designer)<\/strong>
Totally agree, Sarah. I\u2019ve read his work before, and every single sentence is so beautifully crafted. But it\u2019s definitely a slower pace than I typically like.<\/p>\n

Joel Calfee (assistant editor)<\/strong>
I will say I think the first chapter might be a bit deterring to people who don\u2019t love flowery prose and who are better pulled in by action, but to those people I say: STICK WITH IT.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc961\u2757\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/p>\n

You can tell Vuong is a poet by his writing because it\u2019s just so beautiful, but I thought this book had a really strong narrative arc too.<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong><\/strong>
YES. That. After that first chapter I was like, Okay, I need to read this in complete silence and concentrate.<\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sarah Olivieri
<\/strong>Agreed, Joel. I wasn\u2019t sure Hai was going to be a character I liked, in the beginning, but he really made such growth throughout the year shown.<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek<\/strong>
Did anyone read his last book, On Earth We\u2019re Briefly Gorgeous? (I\u2019m still obsessed with that title.) I read on Ocean\u2019s instagram page that the prompt for this book (The Emperor of Gladness), was something like, What would Little Dog\u2019s first novel look like? And so the result was this book.<\/p>\n

Ariana Marsh
<\/strong>It\u2019s loosely based on his life\u2014the person he dedicated the book to is his Grazina \ud83e\udd79.<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
I LOVED his first book. And this felt like a perfect follow-up. He even subtly referenced it at one point.<\/p>\n

Sarah<\/strong> Olivieri<\/strong>
I saw that \ud83d\ude2d.<\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
So, the story begins with Hai wanting to end his life by jumping from a bridge into the water, but Grazina, an elderly lady who lives near the river, stops him and takes him in. We later learn that Grazina is a Lithuanian refugee who suffers from dementia and suddenly breaks into flashbacks from World War II. What did you feel about Hai\u2019s relationship with Grazina and how it evolves?<\/p>\n

Joel Calfee<\/strong>
I love that someone brought up the connection to On Earth We\u2019re Briefly Gorgeous, because that book was composed of such strong vignettes and scenes that felt like flipping through Polaroids, and this book is so focused on memory too, and the ways in which we have to grapple with our past.
<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f2<\/strong>
I am a sucker for an age-gap friendship. Let\u2019s all befriend old people!!
\ud83e\udd703<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek<\/strong>
Period!!!
<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ariana Marsh<\/strong>
I think it\u2019s really special for many reasons. Both are dealing with loneliness and the generational impact of war, and both are mourning people who were exceptionally close to them.<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f2<\/strong><\/p>\n

They are exactly what one another need in that moment in a really strange, at times, and beautiful way.<\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think they kind of save each other.<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek<\/strong>
I do think Ocean Vuong has a way of romanticizing every single inch of life\u2014how we reflect on our past and how we relate to one another.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc962<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sarah<\/strong> Olivieri
<\/strong>It also seemed the exact right person to have crossed her path, not only needing the shelter but who had experience with dementia from his own grandmother.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc962<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek
<\/strong>I love an unlikely friendship.<\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
I really loved how Hai grew to play the memory game to make Grazina feel comfortable once they got to know each other. when he became Sargeant Pepper for her and just randomly made up war scenarios. It was just so incredibly heartbreaking, but yes, like you said Olivia, he made it sound beautiful. <\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joel Calfee
<\/strong>This book made me so emo because my grandma\u2019s dementia has recently gotten worse and Vuong knows how to make a reader CRY! But I agree, it\u2019s always in such a beautiful way.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc973<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sarah<\/strong> Olivieri
<\/strong>I will say my favorite chapters to read tho weren\u2019t about him and Grazina, but about the HomeMarket team.<\/p>\n

Ariana Marsh<\/strong>
Talk about a motley crew! I loved them.<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f3<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
I was obsessed with the awkward coworkers.<\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joel Calfee<\/strong>
The HomeMarket team was so fun! It was kind of like watching The Bear, lol.
<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek<\/strong>
Totally made me emotional. HAHA wait, Joel, so true.<\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
I think there is also something pretty dark but comforting in the fact that Hai found a family in a group of fast food coworkers with all sorts of issues of their own.<\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f3<\/strong><\/p>\n

The pig scene where they bonded was so disturbing.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sarah<\/strong> Olivieri
<\/strong>I HATED THAT. I was like, Okay, a little less description here, please. It reminded me of the pig scene in Stag Dance<\/a>, remember that? Let\u2019s all leave the pigs alone.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc461 \ud83e\udd222\u2757\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joel Calfee<\/strong>
Utterly disturbing, lol.<\/p>\n

Ariana Marsh<\/strong>
I really appreciated the respect with which the HomeMarket team members were treated as characters; there\u2019s so much humanity in Vuong\u2019s writing. Even in the way he describes the post-industrial town of Gladness\u2014there\u2019s a lot of tenderness and appreciation and beauty in his words when often, such places (and the people who live there) are written about from a very different disposition. The characters had so much pride in their work and were so uniquely developed. It was so much fun to get to know them.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc974<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sarah<\/strong> Olivieri
\ud83d\udc46 <\/strong>I wish I could extra emphasize this.<\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
Definitely, Ariana. Especially BJ and how kind of pathetic the entire fighter storyline ended up being. But they were all there to support her<\/p>\n

Ariana Marsh<\/strong>
100% They felt like real people.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcaf2<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
Throughout the book, we get to see Hai form very different kinds of relationships with the people in his life: his mom, his cousin, Grazina, his coworkers. Which relationship left the biggest mark on you?<\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek
<\/strong>I really loved the themes of found family throughout the book and could really relate\u2014the fact that there are people in your life who you connect so deeply to.
<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd251<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
Hai\u2019s relationship with his mom especially depressed me. How he lies to her and knowing he\u2019s keeping his real life from her drives him deeper into depression and self-loathing, but at the same time he doesn\u2019t want to break her delusion and joy at the life she thinks he\u2019s created, and so he continues lying.<\/p>\n

Sarah<\/strong> Olivieri
<\/strong>I really like the growth we see with him and Sony. How they start as kind of strangers with their mom’s fighting but Hai ends up his protector and support system.<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez
<\/strong>I loved how Sony touched his scar when he got nervous, and how Hai made him feel better about it. I could cry.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc973 \ud83d\ude2d1<\/strong><\/strong>
<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek
<\/strong>Agreed, Rosa. I think his relationship with his mom definitely makes me appreciate my relationship with my mom (in that they’re drastically different). It definitely broke my heart how sad and lonely he felt, and I was constantly rooting for him to find heartwarming connections with others throughout the book to fill that void.
<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f1\u2757\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ariana Marsh<\/strong>
His relationship with Grazina also touched me for how she served as a mother figure for him and how he, in turn, served as a kind of child figure to her\u2014I think it helped heal Grazina, whose daughter is estranged, and vice versa.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc974<\/strong><\/p>\n

Basically I just love the love between everyone, haha.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd704<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez
<\/strong>For a story so dark, there really was a lot of love.<\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joel Calfee
<\/strong>I always find the way Ocean writes about relationships with mothers to be so depressing, because it\u2019s equally complicated in OEWBG. I think as a queer person, he shows that there\u2019s always this voice in your head telling you that lying to your parents about who you are just makes things easier for them because you want them to see a certain portrait of you. He explores this in a really raw way here, obviously going beyond sexuality, but I think so much of it stems from that.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc974<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek<\/strong>
Absolutely, and the fact that his family are immigrants also adds another layer of complexity to his queer identity.<\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joel Calfee<\/strong>
But then it goes back to chosen families and the ways in which people cope by eventually opening up to others and (hopefully) healing!
<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
10000% And I love that the sexuality part just sneaks in with the hotel scene, but when he tells Grazina he\u2019s gay, she\u2019s just like, That\u2019s cool. <\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f3<\/strong><\/p>\n

I died when she said, Oh you\u2019re a legibit (meaning LGBTQ), or whatever it was.<\/p>\n

Joel Calfee<\/strong>
HAHA oh my god, yes, I was obsessed with that scene.<\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek<\/strong>
Definitely, the most heartwarming kind of coming out story there is, when people are unphased.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd702<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
Did you ever get a sense of what Hai\u2019s main problem was? Why was he so unhappy?<\/p>\n

Ariana Marsh
<\/strong>I think inherited trauma from the Vietnam War might have been a big part of it.
<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sarah<\/strong> Olivieri
<\/strong>What I took away was that losing Noah was his biggest shift. I think it made staying in college too hard, staying away from drugs that numbed him too hard, and then trying to explain that to his mom just seemed impossible to him.<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f1\u2757\ufe0f2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ariana Marsh
<\/strong>And what it means to be displaced, to feel between two identities, to deal with such immense loss as Hai has (with the death of his friend).<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek<\/strong>
I don\u2019t think there necessarily needs to be a why\u2014that\u2019s kind of depression\u2019s whole bit, to me. It can just haunt you even without a reason. Sure, circumstances can make your life more challenging, as it did for him (his complicated relationship with his mother, self hatred, navigating queerness, trauma from the war), but I think being an unhappy person can also just happen on its own, and those things can exacerbate it.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udd252\ud83d\udc461<\/strong><\/p>\n

But also yes to all of the above statements.<\/p>\n

Joel Calfee<\/strong>
Y\u2019all ate that so hard I backspaced everything I wrote.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude023<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek<\/strong>
Sometimes when I read Ocean Vuong\u2019s work, I question if there\u2019s ever a sentence where he\u2019s like, \u201cNo, this doesn\u2019t sound beautiful enough\u201d\u2014because he crafts every single word on the page so carefully\u2014or if this is just how he speaks. I think he does speak this beautifully, but also, like, every single sentence was a work of art?!<\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joel Calfee<\/strong>
Even his Instagram captions read like poetry, I swear.<\/p>\n

Ariana Marsh
<\/strong>If I could write literally one sentence like him I\u2019d retire my keyboard.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude2e1\u2757\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek
<\/strong><\/strong>I know his background stems from poetry, but like, is it exhausting making an entire novel so meticulous? <\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f<\/strong>2\ud83d\ude021<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
It\u2019s insane to me how his mind works. And I loved that he made his voice Hai\u2019s voice and Sony\u2019s too. It doubled down on why he and Hai were so in sync.<\/p>\n

Joel Calfee<\/strong>
I think he just thinks that way, meanwhile my brain chemistry looks like key smashes.
<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ariana Marsh<\/strong>
A true gift \ud83d\udc96.<\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek<\/strong>
I definitely had to take my time reading it just to inhale everything properly.<\/p>\n

Sarah<\/strong> Olivieri
<\/strong>Maybe I\u2019m jumping ahead (SPOILER), but do you guys think he dies in the end? I tried to Google it, haha.<\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
Okay, so I got the sense that he ended up choosing to die, yes. Like, full circle to the bridge. Because he called out to his mom and kind of got that jolt of bliss.<\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, the dumpster diving really got me.<\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joel Calfee<\/strong>
It was hard for me to determine exactly, but I guess whether he dies or not, it\u2019s supposed to be a happy moment? To me, the book felt like a journey of not fully overcoming grief, but learning to grow with it and accept it, rather than be consumed by it.<\/p>\n

\u2764\ufe0f2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek<\/strong>
Beautifully said.<\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
Ocean rubbed off on you, JC.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc461\u2764\ufe0f1\u2757\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joel Calfee<\/strong>
I\u2019m also obsessed with epigraphs, so I kept revisiting the beginning and trying to think about what those quotes meant in relation to the title. The Hamlet one specifically: \u201cYour worm is your only emperor for diet. We fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f3<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
I read that one like 10 times. So deep and for what!<\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/p>\n

I also kind of think the use of emperor was ironic. Like, in this shitty town with no purpose, making up stories about war heroes.<\/p>\n

\u2757\ufe0f1\u2764\ufe0f1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Olivia Alchek
<\/strong>I think the whole title is ironic, in a sense. Didn\u2019t feel very \u201cglad\u201d to me!!!<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude022<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ariana Marsh
<\/strong>I think the whole book is a daisy chain of little acts of kindness that collectively lead to his belief in people and bits of goodness again.<\/p>\n

\ud83e\udd722\ud83d\udc972<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rosa Sanchez<\/strong>
Beautifully said \u2764\ufe0f.<\/p>\n

I feel like this book, like all of Ocean\u2019s writing, deserves a lot more discussion and analysis, but I\u2019m really glad we read it. It was raw and heartbreaking and so beautiful and truly reminded me why I wanted to be a writer in the first place.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc974<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our <\/strong>Bazaar<\/strong> Book Chat pick for July is <\/strong>Sunburn <\/strong>by Chloe Michelle Howarth<\/strong>. <\/strong>Pick up your copy of the book here<\/a>, and read along with us.<\/strong>
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