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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
slow-paced
challenging
dark
sad
tense
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
Wow. This was not an easy book, and it left me a wreck, but it was beautiful, too.
Hai is 19, living in the down and out town of East Gladness, CT, when he decides to jump off the bridge.. but right before he does, an elderly woman across the river calls to him, and convinces him to come in to her house. This is how he ends up living with and caring for Grazina, who is teetering on the edge of dementia, slipping more every day.
I wasn't fully satisfied with the ending, but I guess that's life for you..
The writing was absolutely beautiful, and I loved all of the characters. This one will stay with me for a long time.
Hai is 19, living in the down and out town of East Gladness, CT, when he decides to jump off the bridge.. but right before he does, an elderly woman across the river calls to him, and convinces him to come in to her house. This is how he ends up living with and caring for Grazina, who is teetering on the edge of dementia, slipping more every day.
I wasn't fully satisfied with the ending, but I guess that's life for you..
The writing was absolutely beautiful, and I loved all of the characters. This one will stay with me for a long time.
emotional
reflective
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-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
reading log!
10 september:
i am fully convinced ocean vuong has worked food service because got damn is the depiction of hai's job so disgustingly accurate. also i guess panera is copyrighted or something? so silly.
this is my first time ever reading vuong's work and i LOVE IT. he somehow is able to describe feelings and experiences i've never been able to find the words for. it is fantastic. i really didn't expect it to be so fun. like i assumed it would all be serious and emotionally devastating but it's not. which makes the soul-crushing scenes so much more hard-hitting when they do come up. i am having so much fun. i normally Do Not cast real people as book characters but i keep imagining this spunky lady i worked with at my local used bookstore as grazina and my grandma as maureen. it's great.
12 september:
hey so just like when i finished omori i think i'm going to treat myself to some ice cream after finishing the emperor of gladness (and also i just came in from reading outside for half an hour) because what the fuck.
wow. okay. damn. that was really something. i don't know how he does it. i don't know how vuong is able to capture the feelings of yearning and devastation so accurately it is disgusting. must be some kind of sorcery. the burning bleeding urge to do something anything! with your pitiful little life, the burnout of wanting more than your shitty minimum wage food service job. the unique kind of familial relationship you form with your coworkers at said shitty food service job. hai is such a boyfailure you just can't help but feel sorry for him. every time he calls his mother and has to fabricate a lie to tell her, a shard of my heart flakes off. disgusting. disgusting! "oh yeah ma i'm doing great in med school, love being a doctor!" he says as he's shooting hogs in a butchering pen andhas literally thrown himself away in a fucking dumpster. my guy. there were a lot of parts where he was just like me fr! jumping off a bridge to end it all? hell yeah, that's too relatable.
10 september:
i am fully convinced ocean vuong has worked food service because got damn is the depiction of hai's job so disgustingly accurate. also i guess panera is copyrighted or something? so silly.
this is my first time ever reading vuong's work and i LOVE IT. he somehow is able to describe feelings and experiences i've never been able to find the words for. it is fantastic. i really didn't expect it to be so fun. like i assumed it would all be serious and emotionally devastating but it's not. which makes the soul-crushing scenes so much more hard-hitting when they do come up. i am having so much fun. i normally Do Not cast real people as book characters but i keep imagining this spunky lady i worked with at my local used bookstore as grazina and my grandma as maureen. it's great.
12 september:
hey so just like when i finished omori i think i'm going to treat myself to some ice cream after finishing the emperor of gladness (and also i just came in from reading outside for half an hour) because what the fuck.
wow. okay. damn. that was really something. i don't know how he does it. i don't know how vuong is able to capture the feelings of yearning and devastation so accurately it is disgusting. must be some kind of sorcery. the burning bleeding urge to do something anything! with your pitiful little life, the burnout of wanting more than your shitty minimum wage food service job. the unique kind of familial relationship you form with your coworkers at said shitty food service job. hai is such a boyfailure you just can't help but feel sorry for him. every time he calls his mother and has to fabricate a lie to tell her, a shard of my heart flakes off. disgusting. disgusting! "oh yeah ma i'm doing great in med school, love being a doctor!" he says as he's shooting hogs in a butchering pen and
i feel numb. i feel hollow. i am unwell! which means this book has earned a spot in my 10/10 rating list. congrats. you have joined the Elites.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-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
Centered around one young man, Ocean Vuong’s Emperor of Gladness explores the idea of circumstantial family. The main character is lost, searching for purpose and belonging, questioning life’s worth. Still, he shows up for others with an open mind and heart. Beautiful prose and many thought-provoking scenes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Dementia