Emperor of Gladness: A Novel [PRE-ORDER 05/13]

NOT YET AVAILABLE. Pre-order now. This title is scheduled to arrive May 13, 2025. Note: release dates and prices are tentative and subject to change at the publisher's whim. When pre-ordering with multiple items, remember your order will not ship until the last pre-ordered item is in stock. If you want items to ship separately, place separate orders. Ocean Vuong returns with a bighearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond, one built on empathy, spiritual reckoning