Take a photo of a barcode or cover
littlerthings 's review for:
The Emperor of Gladness
by Ocean Vuong
emotional
reflective
sad
"How strange to feel something so close to mercy, whatever that was, and stranger still that it should be found in here of all places, at the end of a road of ruined houses by a toxic river. That among a pile of salvaged trash he would come closest to all he wanted to be."
I wanted to like this more than I did :( Ocean Vuong is one of my favourite writers and I absolutely adored his first novel so I guess there was a certain expectation. I can't really pinpoint why but somehow I wasn't as captivated as I wanted to be, and due to the pacing I sadly found it hard to stay focused in the middle part.
The last chapters were gorgeous though. Ocean Vuong's writing was incredibly soft and heartfelt as always. The characters were well written and their stories and bonds were heartbreaking.
I'll probably never eat a carrot again without thinking of Grazina.
I wanted to like this more than I did :( Ocean Vuong is one of my favourite writers and I absolutely adored his first novel so I guess there was a certain expectation. I can't really pinpoint why but somehow I wasn't as captivated as I wanted to be, and due to the pacing I sadly found it hard to stay focused in the middle part.
The last chapters were gorgeous though. Ocean Vuong's writing was incredibly soft and heartfelt as always. The characters were well written and their stories and bonds were heartbreaking.
I'll probably never eat a carrot again without thinking of Grazina.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Suicide attempt, War
Moderate: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Car accident