Book Review: The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
— A Haunting Ode to Grief, Joy, and the Fragility of Being Human
You read some novels. Additionally, there are novels that evoke strong emotions in you, such as the recollection of a loved one. The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong falls firmly within the latter group.
A Title That Hides a Storm
Don’t let the title deceive you. “Gladness” here isn’t the bubbly, surface-level joy we expect. It’s fragile, complex, and earned—often through pain. The Emperor of Gladness is not about a king who reigns over joy, but about a human being who tries to find it amidst ruins—of memory, war, family, identity, and selfhood.
Vuong's work once again proves that he doesn't just write with a pen; he writes with his entire body. Every page is saturated with emotion, his sentences folding into themselves with heartbreaking beauty.
The Writing: Poetry in Prose Form
This book is another example of Ocean Vuong's beautiful style. He writes in a precise, introspective, and metaphorically rich style. He transforms the ordinary into the sacred. A lighthouse is made out of a matchstick. The absence of a lover is like language itself collapsing.
"I go to the country of grief in silence. At the border, I remove my name like a coat.
How is this accomplished? How can he give something as intangible as longing or loss form, color, and fragrance? The words breathe; they don't merely exist on paper.
Themes: Identity, Queerness, Loss, and the Experience of Immigrants
In keeping with Vuong's recurring themes, The Emperor of Gladness explores challenging but essential subjects, such as a mother's waning memory, queer love in a world that hurts, the generational scars of war, and the futile endeavor to maintain happiness in an ash-filled world.Vuong handles trauma with compassion, not to take advantage of it but to comprehend it. And in some way, he allows beauty to live with the suffering. A sort of emotional alchemy is the end outcome.
This is not a quick read. It requires you to be there. Every few pages, you take a moment to think, breathe, and perhaps even cry. You won't be able to put the book down once you've turned the last page.
Rating: 10/10
For people who have experienced profound love and loss and still dare to pursue light, The Emperor of Gladness is more than just a book. The great thing about Ocean Vuong's writing is that it doesn't cleanly fall into any one genre.
It isn't always simple. Sometimes it's unclear. But it's worth every moment, just like love, tragedy, and life.