Matt’s Reviews > The Emperor of Gladness > Status Update

God this book is fantastic

Hai's personal dialogue/reflection throughout this chapter is like a punch in the gut. Almost cried like 3 times

Everyone in this story is flawed, but I can't help but root for them. Especially when it comes to HomeMarket, there's such a strong feeling of unity that you can't help but wish every single crew member the best

I hate that it feels like Hai is growing as a person and has finally found his people and now they're being ripped away from him.

Vuong is building a beautifully complicated cast of characters

The best way I can describe this book so far is tragically beautiful. Vuong has such a poetic writing; I really noticed that after the lines "...this news had come as relief, a thread they could follow together even as they were spinning apart" and "...warm and alone, alone and yet, somehow, still somebody's son." (forgot the page #s but it's between Chapters 4-6).