Reviews - The Emperor of Gladness

2.05k reviews for:

The Emperor of Gladness

Ocean Vuong

4.26 AVERAGE

jamie_redfearn's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark funny

Plot or Character Driven: Character

rachel_drenning's review against another edition

5.0

Cry. Heart. Dream. Love.

prosesiren's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

The writing was amazing. It’s poetry in long form and worth reading just to get the satisfaction of how Ocean Vuong makes a feeling come to life.

Story-wise, I feel there is so much to unpack, so I won’t go into the many ways I love the writing.
My main takeaway is this is a story about poverty in America. It’s about how we treat the elderly, the immigrant, the black people, the fat, the disabled, the mentally unstable, or any group that does not fit the “American” mold. What was even more impressive to me is that it’s done with love and honesty. Poverty is the most complicated and complex experience. I’m not talking no gifts on Christmas or we didn’t ever get McDonald’s, although I’m sure that struggle is real, it’s not the poverty addressed here. Poverty that is a generational habit difficult to quit and impossible to escape. It’s how we live, think, and treat ourselves. It does not leave you, I promise that. All the ways these people are different in this book and yet over and over again Ocean tells us they are all exactly the same. They are all worth knowing and being alive.
One of my favorite lines, “To have wings you need to want to go somewhere. But it feels wasted on me, you know?” is said by the youngest character and I feel it captures the difficulty of climbing out of poverty. You can want it. You can have the ability to make it happen, but that’s not always easy. Sometimes, we are the obstacle. And I think Ocean isn’t saying it’s their fault. He’s saying it’s harder than any of the middle America people could ever understand.

rhysdb's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful 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: Complicated

vanakin_skywalker's review against another edition

4.75

dark 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

kaiguerrero's review against another edition

4.25

emotional 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: N/A

undercoverreads's review against another edition

3.0

This book held so much promise and I was hoping to love it. What drew me was the writing which is so beautiful. However, I need more than beautiful writing to sustain my interest for 400 pages. Sadly, I found the book to be going nowhere and it was a very close DNF for me. I persevered until the very last page in the hope that it would “redeem itself” and SOMEthing would happen. Sadly this was not the case. I found the book to be very repetitive and the ending was flat and disappointing. I got the impression that writing this book was like therapy for the author, reliving a special relationship. The only reason why I rated this book, rather begrudgingly I must add, 3 stars is because the writing is beautiful.