felishacb 's review for:

The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

4.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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: Complicated

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I'll read anything by Ocean Vuong which is one reason I held on past the first 30%. My distractability is on me and none of Vuong's business. Vuong is a genius and all the work of building this world and laying out the characters pays off in the second half of the book. I must always remember, Ocean knows what he's doing.

Can we replace one of books by old white dudes in the "canon" that young people read in school with this novel? I can see this becoming a classic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Dementia, Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Grief, Death of parent

Minor: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Police brutality, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War