{"product_id":"the-emperor-of-gladness-9780593831878","title":"The Emperor of Gladness","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Emperor of Gladness\u003c\/i\u003e is a poetic, dramatic and vivid story. Epic in its sweep, the novel also handles intimacy and love with delicacy and deep originality. Hai and Grazina 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 T?ib?n, author of\u003ci\u003e Long Island \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eBrooklyn\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A masterwork.\" --Bryan Washington, author of \u003ci\u003ePalaver\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eFamily Meal\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOcean Vuong returns with a bighearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOne late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond, one built on empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak, with the power to transform Hai's relationship to himself, his family, and a community on the brink. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFollowing the cycles of history, memory, and time, \u003ci\u003eThe Emperor of Gladness \u003c\/i\u003eshows the profound ways in which love, labor, and loneliness form the bedrock of American life. At its heart is a brave epic about what it means to exist on the fringes of society and to reckon with the wounds that haunt our collective soul. Hallmarks of Ocean Vuong's writing--formal innovation, syntactic dexterity, and the ability to twin grit with grace through tenderness--are on full display in this story of loss, hope, and how far we would go to possess one of life's most fleeting mercies: a second chance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ocean Vuong\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Penguin Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/13\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 416\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.25h x 6.13w x 1.03d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780593831878\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/10\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOcean Vuong\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collections \u003ci\u003eNight Sky with Exit Wounds\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTime Is a Mother\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling novel \u003ci\u003eOn Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous\u003c\/i\u003e. A recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship and the American Book Award, he used to work as a fast-food server, which inspired \u003ci\u003eThe Emperor of Gladness\u003c\/i\u003e. Born in Saigon, Vietnam, he currently splits his time between Northampton, Massachusetts, and New York City.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Ingram","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46625058881750,"sku":"9780593831878","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0672\/1660\/5398\/files\/img_54282526-3ce6-445f-bbe0-a6992cc6bd82.jpg?v=1741856845","url":"https:\/\/bookclubonmain.com\/products\/the-emperor-of-gladness-9780593831878","provider":"Book Club On Main","version":"1.0","type":"link"}