Take a photo of a barcode or cover
kbeucler 's review for:
The Emperor of Gladness
by Ocean Vuong
I was a little disappointed by this to be honest. Ready to take his own life by jumping off the bridge in East Gladness, Hai is stopped by Grazina, an old Lithuanian woman living near the bridge. She invites Hai to live with her and take care of her, but they really take care of each other. Vuong's writing is gorgeous as always, but this one didn't hold me like On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous or his poetry. I thought it was a little slow and there was too much description. It was beautiful description, but it wasn't needed. It was also kind of a bummer, which is an unfair assessment for a book about addiction. I don't know. There were some lovely moments, but I did struggle to get through it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Racism, Suicide attempt, War