Books
by Ocean Vuong
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The Emperor of Gladness |
Vuong’s second novel (read his first one before this one if you haven’t!). There are some familiar themes, but this wonderful, intense book is mostly about the diverse forms that love, family and friendship can take under the brutal conditions of late capitalism, and specifically for the working class in the USA. Addiction, pain, exhaustion and illness are the normal in these lives, told in a refreshing style as a reminder that there is no "normal" anymore. If there ever was...
(Sally Gutierrez Diaz - bwl 119 Spring 2026) |
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