https://jasoncarloscox.com/reading/by-author/book-authors/ocean-vuong/ Recent content in Book Authors/Ocean Vuong on jasoncarloscox.comHugo -- gohugo.ioen-usContent licensed CC BY-SA 4.0Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://jasoncarloscox.com/reading/the-emperor-of-gladness/Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://jasoncarloscox.com/reading/the-emperor-of-gladness/<p>I have mixed feelings about this book. I think I might have liked it better if it were shorter. The themes of survival and friendship in difficult circumstances are interesting. The characters are wonderfully loveable despite their rough edges. But there&rsquo;s not much of a plot, and it&rsquo;s a very heavy book. I can only hang onto a story like that for so long.</p> <p>I&rsquo;m not sure what to make of the style either. Throughout the very raw episodes from the characters&rsquo; lives, their are little snippets that feel like they&rsquo;re trying to be poetic and philosophical, but mostly they just went over my head. Maybe I&rsquo;m just too dense to get it. I had the impression that the novel was taking itself a bit too seriously. I did enjoy the prose, though; Vuong certainly writes well.</p>