I recently started looking out for potential ARCs (advanced reader copies) of books that I’m interested in to read and give my opinion. I’ve been able to read a few on NetGalley and I wanted to share my review of The Emperor of Gladness which came out earlier this month. I read this novel before the publication date.
“It was the kind of day where anything felt possible. As if the charity of the world had tipped, finally, to one side of the rusted scale. The kind of day where you can fill in your scars with Magic Marker and tell yourself you’re normal – and it might be true.
I had been really looking forward to reading this book ever since I read a blurb in a magazine. So it was a great excitement to me to be able to read an advanced copy before its publication next week.
The Emperor of Gladness is poetic with beautiful writing in a complicated, unbeautiful world. I loved Hai’s interactions with Grazina – an elderly woman facing the complications of dementia, who stopped Hai from jumping off a bridge. Dementia is such an awful disease, but Vuong wrote it with such power and dignity.
The characters are all very complicated people and sometimes I was getting lost with their personalities or in their backstories. I thought the first third of the book was great, but I was kind of bored through the middle bit. It picked up more towards the end and brought my attention back.
Overall, a 4 star read and am curious to read more by Vuong in the future. Thank you Random House UK, Vintage and NetGalley for the advanced copy!
Will you be giving this book a read? Let me know!
xx Hannah
Idealistic Iowan 