Reviews - De keizer van Gladness

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2.13k reviews for:

De keizer van Gladness

Ocean Vuong

4.26 AVERAGE

loveandceleste's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ixren's review against another edition

4.0

Between pretty good and good with a perfect ending. I feel like I know Hai as a character, his personality, fears, and flaws. I loved all the scenes with the coworkers who are not friends but closer in some ways. My favorite scene was the winter at the hog butchery. Despite the known bleakness of working class, rural-ish America, I always held a glint of hope at every plot point while knowing that nothing miraculous would ever happen to save anyone.

anorakkapuze's review against another edition

4.5

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

nahhhjahhh's review against another edition

3.5

hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

enzsch's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ngl it was a bit mid, but maybe more of a me problem than Ocean's problem

I really loved some of these characters, but I did not feel very compelled by the events they were happening. It was kind of vignetty which I usually am happy with, but this writing style maybe felt so ethereal that did not feel a lot of attachment to anything actually happening? I guess I would have preferred it if it felt like there was more of a throughline or a drive to the events of the book. Perhaps with Hai lying to his mum or stealing Grazina's money.

Story was bleak city. So many different kinds of bleak. I really enjoyed all the stuff with Grazina's family, esp her son's family, but did not care so much for the restaurant happenings. I also kinda hate war stories so that aspect was not appealing to me.

I did read it in a bit of a stressful time so I think that affected my ability to take in Ocean Vuong's poetic writing.