The Page Turners Oct Meeting: The Emporer of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

Published on May 13, 2025, this novel was selected as Oprah’s latest Book Club pick and has quickly become one of the most talked-about releases of the year.
Set in the fictional town of East Gladness, Connecticut, it follows Hai, a 19-year-old Vietnamese-American who attempts suicide and is saved by Grazina, a Lithuanian widow with dementia. Hai becomes her caretaker, and together with a group of hardworking misfit coworkers, they form an unlikely found family born from empathy and survival.

While reading, please consider
• How does the relationship between Hai and Grazina develop, and what does it teach us about community and caregiving?
• In what ways does the setting—East Gladness, a post-industrial town—reflect characters’ emotional states?
• Consider the themes of identity, false narratives, and survival. How does Hai’s deception with his mother deepen his emotional journey?
• Discuss Vuong’s narrative style: his poetic language, character voices, and blending of humor with grief.
• How does the concept of found family compare to conventional family structures depicted in the novel.

Looking forward to a rich and thoughtful discussion about hope, labor, memory, and redemption.

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