The Emperor of Gladness

The Emperor of Gladness is widely acclaimed poet, essayist, and novelist Ocean Vuong’s second novel. Vuong is Vietnamese American—his family arrived in Connecticut when Vuong was just two years old. His maternal grandfather was American, having met Vuong’s grandmother in Vietnam during the war; she and her daughters, with their respective children, fled to the United States because Vuong’s mother and aunts were banned from working in Vietnam due to their mixed heritage. Vuong was raised in Hartford, Connecticut, eventually completing a degree in English from Brooklyn College and an MFA from New York University (Wong, Henry. “Ocean Vuong on Why ‘the Emperor of Gladness’ is His ‘Slump Book’ (and Why That’s No Bad Thing).” Esquire, 16 May 2025).

In keeping with the rest of his oeuvre, The Emperor of Gladness draws deeply from Vuong’s own life and experiences. For instance, his debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019), is written from the first-person perspective by a narrator named “Little Dog” whose life experiences entirely mirror Vuong’s own. Little Dog also explores his sexuality, eventually forming a romantic relationship with Trevor, a boy he meets while working in a tobacco farm.