Review of The Emperor of Gladness: A Must-Read for 2025

Today, we will be reviewing The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong, an incredible novel and one of my favorite reads of 2025. Keep reading to find out our full thoughts on this novel and if you should read it too!

The Emperor of Gladness Summary

Hai, a nineteen-year-old teenager who lives in East Gladness Connecticut, plans to jump off a bridge. But before he can, an old woman named Grazina tells him to come down and he suddenly finds himself living with her as her caregiver.

Grazina is an elderly woman with dementia and Hai finds himself taking care of her. They create a bond over the course over a year and come to rely on each other. But Hai can’t escape his problems and has to face them head on and soon realizes that Grazina needs him because of her dementia.

Commentary

The Emperor of Gladness was released in 2025 and was one of the best books I read this year. It is no surprise that it has made multiple end of year lists and I do hope it wins awards next year.

This is a beautiful novel that deals with heavy subjects and deals with all of it very gently. What I love about this novel is relates well to young adults and difficult situations that many people face. From drug abuse to mental health issues, Vuong tackles these topics head on and in the progress has written a modern classic.

Conclusion

I will be rooting for this novel and cheer every time it makes another end of year list. If you want to read a powerful and moving novel, then this is the novel for you.

There are tons of great quotes in this book that I will be revisiting often. It should come as no surprise that Ocean Vuong is also a poet. I will be making a list of my favorite books of 2025 and I won’t be surprised to see this book make the list. Until next time, happy reading!

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook