NDR Kultur »Der Norden liest«

Description

After his internationally acclaimed debut novel »On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous«, Ocean Vuong now presents his new work. In »The Emperor of Gladness«, he tells the story of a young man who – like Vuong himself – left Vietnam as a small child with his family and emigrated to the United States. Now, he is confronted with the omnipresent and everyday failures of people, including his own. The swamp of lies and drugs runs deep, but the hope of pulling oneself out of this mire by one’s own hair never stops shimmering. A powerful, heartbreakingly beautiful novel about a person on the edge, about queer love, and the salvation that can be found anywhere.