Latest news with #TheEmperorOfGladness
ABC News
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Ocean Vuong and Fleur McDonald reimagine Connecticut and Kalgoorlie
US poet, Ocean Vuong says when he was growing up "being a writer was like being a unicorn" but now he's published his second novel The Emperor of Gladness. Plus, Esperance based author Fleur McDonald reinvents herself in the harsh WA landscape of Kalgoorlie with her novel, The Prospect. The Emperor of Gladness is the latest novel from the Vietnam born, American-based writer Ocean Vuong who made his name with his 2019 novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. His new novel, The Emperor of Gladness, takes you to a forgotten, rundown town in Connecticut called East Gladness which is a place of overgrown lawns and trampled weeds, of potholes and roadkill. Ocean shares why he thinks his latest book is self-indulgent (and that's ok), how he came to writing from business school and why his mother never knew that he dropped out of college to study literature. Australian novelist Fleur McDonald is 25 books into her writing career but as well as writing page-turning novels, she's also lived an incredible life and founded the WA organisation DV Assist which is aimed at rural victims of domestic violence. Fleur is based in Esperance - on the southern coast of Western Australia - but her new book, The Prospect, takes the reader inland to Kalgoorlie, a gold mining town, which even today holds tight to its frontier sensibility.
Arab News
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab News
What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Emperor of Gladness'
Author: Ocean Vuong As an avid reader, I often search for books that not only tell compelling stories but also touch the depths of my soul. Ocean Vuong's 'The Emperor of Gladness' is a book that captivated me in ways I did not expect. From its opening pages, I knew I was in for a transformative experience. Vuong, a Vietnamese-American poet and novelist, is known for his lyrical and poignant style that explores themes of identity, family, and the immigrant experience. His debut novel this year follows the success of his award-winning poetry collections, including 'Night Sky with Exit Wounds,' which garnered critical acclaim and established him as a significant voice in contemporary literature. Reading 'The Emperor of Gladness' felt like embarking on an emotional journey that resonated deeply with me. Sometimes you do not just read a book; you bleed through it. Vuong's lyrical prose enveloped me, drawing me into the intricate lives of his characters. I found myself captivated by their struggles and triumphs, each story reflecting the complexities of identity and family ties. This is my second five-star book of the year, and the magic of it still lingers, like an unsolved riddle in the back of my mind. Vuong has a remarkable ability to weave together themes of love and trauma, striking a chord that reminded me of my own experiences searching for belonging. His vivid imagery made me feel as if I was walking alongside the characters, experiencing their joys and sorrows firsthand. I was particularly moved by how he portrayed the Vietnamese-American experience, capturing the nuances of culture and the weight of history. Each character felt real and relatable, navigating their paths in a world that can often feel isolating. What stayed with me long after I finished the book was the tenderness with which Vuong approached his characters. This novel is not just a story; it is an exploration of what it means to be human, to love, and to endure. Overall, 'The Emperor of Gladness' is a beautifully crafted work that left a lasting impact on me. I highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates lyrical storytelling and the exploration of identity.
Irish Times
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Did nobody actually read this book before it went to print?: The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
The Emperor of Gladness Author : Ocean Vuong ISBN-13 : 978-1787335400 Publisher : Jonathan Cape Guideline Price : £20 Ocean Vuong's books are enormously popular but it's hard to see why. He is often an incompetent writer of prose and his plots are sentimental mush. The Emperor of Gladness (note twee title) is set in a decaying Connecticut river town called East Gladness. A young man of Vietnamese descent, Hai, considers suicide, but is talked down from a bridge by an elderly Lithuanian woman named Grazina. Grazina is in the early stages of dementia. Hai becomes her carer. Grazina possesses cranky Lithuanian wisdom. She helps Hai work through his issues. Around them, America decays. Your heart might be warmed. Mine was not. The prose alternates between a flat accounting ('Back in the kitchen, he picked up her rotary phone') and a shockingly ham-fisted lyricism. 'Look how the birches, blackened all night by starlings, shatter when dawn's first sparks touch their beaks.' Dawn, of course, does not spark. And Vuong does not appear to know that the subject of this sentence is the birches and not the starlings; so his grammar gives the birches beaks. (The publisher's blurb praises Vuong's 'syntactical dexterity', which must be an in-house joke – unless they really can't tell.) [ Inside judging one of the big literary prizes: searching for sinister outside forces, table banging and some gems of books Opens in new window ] A paragraph later, we get a sentence that disastrously mingles the gross and the sub-poetic: 'At the lot's far edge lies the week-old roadkill, its eye socket filled with warm Coca-Cola, the act of a girl who, bored on her way from school, poured her drink into that finite dark of sightless visions.' READ MORE Vuong is so committed to his notion of transcendent pseudo-lyric prose that he doesn't even tell us what animal he means us to see – all he gives us is 'roadkill'. His prose wants you to feel; it certainly doesn't want you to perceive. It is, of course, Vuong's own literary vision that is sightless. A few pages later, Hai sees a body floating in a river, 'its limbs stretched and opaque'. But it is not necessary to describe a human body as 'opaque', since human bodies are not normally translucent or transparent. Did nobody actually read this book before it went to print? Back in the 20th century American literary prose was the gold standard. In the 21st century it is starting to look like a grotesquely inflated currency. Kevin Power is associate professor of English at Trinity College Dublin
Straits Times
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
The Straits Times Weekly Bestsellers June 7
Fiction: The Passengers On The Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa. PHOTO: HIRO ARIKAWA 1. (1) The Passengers On The Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa; translated by Allison Markin Powell 2. (2) The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei 3. (3) The Emperor Of Gladness by Ocean Vuong 4. (-) One-legged Football And Other Stories by Patricia Pui Huen Lim 5. (4) Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins 6. (-) Welcome To The Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum; translated by Shanna Tan 7. (-) The Convenience Store By The Sea by Sonoko Machida 8. (-) The Vegetarian by Han Kang 9. (-) King Of Envy by Ana Huang 10. (6) Fearless by Lauren Roberts Non-fiction: Why Palestine? Reflections From Singapore by Walid Jumblatt Abdullah. PHOTO: EPIGRAM BOOKS 1. (1) Why Palestine? Reflections From Singapore by Walid Jumblatt Abdullah 2. (2) Elevate Your Assets, Elevate Your Wealth by Kelvin Fong 3. (6) Apple In China by Patrick McGee 4. (4) The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins 5. (-) Agentic Artificial Intelligence by Pascal Bornet and Jochen Wirtz 6. (-) Multipliers, Revised And Updated by Liz Wiseman 7. (9) Empire Of AI by Karen Hao 8. (10) Atomic Habits by James Clear 9. (-) The Art And Making Of Arcane by Elisabeth Vincentelli 10. (-) The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga Children's: The Incredible Basket by Quek Hong Shin. PHOTO: EPIGRAM BOOKSHOP 1. (3) The Incredible Basket by Quek Hong Shin 2. (-) Agents Of S.U.I.T.: Wild Ghost Chase by John Patrick Green 3. (5) Matilda by Roald Dahl 4. (-) Dog Man 13: Big Jim Begins by Dav Pilkey 5. (-) Singapore Is 60: Celebrate With Us! by Sharon Koh; illustrated by Kristen Kiong 6. (-) The World's Worst Superheroes by David Walliams 7. (10) Just A Little Mynah: Makan Mischief by Evelyn Sue Wong; illustrated by Dhanendra Poedjono 8. (-) Beware The Sunda Slow Loris And Other Singaporean Fables by Chen Junhua; illustrated by Chan Shu Yin 9. (-) Eye Spy Singapore by Pippa Chorley 10. (-) Navigating The World With Comfort And Joy As A Little Corgi by Corgiyolk This is The Straits Times' compilation of bestseller lists from Kinokuniya, Epigram, Wardah Books, Book Bar and Afterimage bookstores. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Book review: Ocean Vuong's The Emperor Of Gladness finds beauty in a forgotten American town
The Emperor Of Gladness is poet and writer Ocean Vuong's sophomore novel. PHOTOS: GIONCARLO VALENTINE, PENGUIN PRESS
