Literary Fiction by People of Color discussion

If anyone would like to lead the November discussion for The Emperor Of Gladness by Ocean Vuong, please let me know. You can respond here or dm me directly. Thanks!

I am reading it now, I think. My version says The Emperor of Glad was. I think it is the same book.

Dosha (Bluestocking7) wrote: "I am reading it now, I think. My version says The Emperor of Glad was. I think it is the same book."

Haha. Thanks for noticing that, Dosha. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ll change it. Should be Gladness.

I too just started 2 days ago. i am finding it right now to have inserted humor in just the right spots.

Have you picked up a copy of The Emperor Of Happiness and started reading? Obtained a copy from library or online library site? What other books have you read by this author?

I read this several months ago. Having read his wonderful book On Earth We're Are Briefly Gorgeous as soon as I saw The Emporer of Gladness I had to read it.

This and another book written by a POC...People Like Us by Jason Mott are my favorite books of the year.

I highly suggest any reader to watch Ocean Vuong's interview with Oprah Winfrey on YouTube. It will definitely give you greater insight into this beautiful beautiful book. Also you will clearly see what an incredibly beautiful soul Ocean is.

To me this is a book about hope. Also it is about doing something my mother always taught me and something my husband and I passed down to our children...treat others how you would like to be treated and reach out to help and encourage others as often as you can.

Cheryl wrote: "I read this several months ago. Having read his wonderful book On Earth We're Are Briefly Gorgeous as soon as I saw The Emporer of Gladness I had to read it.

This and another book written by a POC..."

I watched that interview with Oprah a while ago and thought it was really moving. He’s a very interesting person. (Apologies if I have the pronouns wrong).

There are two epigraphs that open the book --- one quotation spoken by Hamlet about the death of Polonius in “Hamlet,” and an excerpt from the Wallace Stevens poem “The Emperor of Ice Cream” about the true reality of death. What does the inclusion of these epigraphs invite you to think about? What do they suggest about the cycles of life and death in the novel? As Hai moves through the four seasons in the four different sections of the book, how do the recurring reminders of cyclicality affect your thinking about the fate of the characters? (From RGG)

Hai’s immigration story begins with the “ruinous wasteland” left after the American War in Vietnam, and continues with his mother and grandmother working to make sure he was the first in his family to go to college (p. 81). Hai tells Grazina that he used to dream about writing a “novel that held everything [he] loved, including unlovable things” (p. 35), a dream that is later described as a “bigger life” that he never achieved. How is the American dream portrayed through Hai’s immigration story? Is it achievable, and for whom? How does Grazina’s immigration story from Lithuania relate to the American dream?

What’s your thoughts on the authors poetic and lyrical style of writing? Does it grab you initially? Does it work for you?

His writing style absolutely works for me. He was a poet before he started writing prose.

Ocean Vuong digs deep...what a beautiful soul!

Evidently Ocean uses the pronouns he/him and explains why in his Reimagining Masculinity...now I need to read this source piece.

Cheryl wrote: "Evidently Ocean uses the pronouns he/him and explains why in his Reimagining Masculinity...now I need to read this source piece."

Oh, thanks for this info.

What do the early sections suggest about the possibility of achieving the American dream, and how does Grazina's story relate to this theme?

What is the significance of the recurring references to ghosts and the supernatural in the early parts of the book?

Cheryl wrote: "I read this several months ago. Having read his wonderful book On Earth We're Are Briefly Gorgeous as soon as I saw The Emporer of Gladness I had to read it.

This and another book written by a POC..."

I so agree with Cheryl. The writing is almost poetic, as is his first novel. Poetry is where he started after all. I'm glad I read "On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous" first, even though he didn't get on my radar until this book. The books seem semi-autobiographic, and introduces the main character, his dedication to family, and how he took care of his grandmother.

I also agree that the book is hopeful despite the fact that it begins with an attempted suicide. Very powerful.

Helene wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "I read this several months ago. Having read his wonderful book On Earth We're Are Briefly Gorgeous as soon as I saw The Emporer of Gladness I had to read it.

This and another book w..."

ColumbusReads wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "I read this several months ago. Having read his wonderful book On Earth We're Are Briefly Gorgeous as soon as I saw The Emporer of Gladness I had to read it.

This and another book w..."
Thanks for these questions/reflections.

The "Hamlet" quotation made me think about death and how the 'worm' (or maggot) gets to be the emperor in the end. And I had to look up the Wallace Stevens poem. The line Vuong selects was the one line that stymied me, the "be be." Does that link it with "Hamlet"? "To be or not to be"?

Anyway, here is the worm emperor and the "Emperor of Ice Cream" morphed into "The Emperor of Gladness." Very clever, and of course Vuong knows literature and poetry very well.

I also liked that the book was divided into the four seasons. The cyclical nature of the year, how "the seasons, they go round and round." It's life, and death, and how we are bound in to this circle of life.

Being older, I'm especially reminded that "everything dies in the end."

But, it is a hopeful book! Be kind, go on, help others!

Cheryl wrote: "His writing style absolutely works for me. He was a poet before he started writing prose.

Ocean Vuong digs deep...what a beautiful soul!"

I so agree. His writing style works well for me. Lyrical, poetic, expressive, visual. It really drew me in.