WeeklySA_AdminRELEASE: The acclaimed writer, whom Oprah describes as “one of the best of our time and for the ages,” draws heavily on his own experience to tell the story of a young Vietnamese man’s unlikely friendship with a dementia-stricken widow…
By Charley Burlock
This week, on CBS Mornings, Oprah revealed that Ocean Vuong’s second novel, The Emperor of Gladness, has been selected as her 114th Book Club pick.
An acclaimed poet, Vuong took the literary world by storm in 2019 with his debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, in which a teenage boy reckons with his queer identity and his family history through a lyrical letter to his illiterate Vietnamese refugee mother.
The book racked up numerous awards and earned Vuong a devoted following of readers around the world. Today’s buzzy new release is one of the most anticipated books of the season.
“Those of you who are Ocean Vuong fans or have read his previous book or his poetry understand that he is an extraordinary writer, one of the best of our time and for the ages,” says Oprah. “I am thrilled and I feel privileged to tell you about this new Book Club selection.”
As he did in his show-stopping first novel, Vuong weaves many elements of his own story into the fictional tale of The Emperor of Gladness, which centres on a 19-year-old from a working-class immigrant family in Connecticut who finds unlikely community in the eccentric staff at his fast-food job and an unlikely home in the spare room of a dementia-stricken Lithuanian octogenarian.
In the latest episode of “Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by Starbucks,” Oprah sits down with Vuong and a live audience of readers to discuss the novel’s real-world inspiration and its resonant themes of loneliness, redemption, and American belonging.
Their entire conversation can be watched for free on Oprah’s YouTube channel. One can also listen to it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever one gets to access their podcasts.
But, however one tunes into this emotional conversation, one must make sure they have tissues within arm’s reach—“trust us, you’ll need them”.
“It was the honour of my life to receive ‘the call’ from Oprah,” says Vuong, whose accolades include a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant and a Whiting Award.
“Beyond the immense pride this moment instils in me, Oprah’s Book Club has made reading accessible and approachable to the working-class communities of my childhood.”
Growing up, The Oprah Winfrey Show played every day in his mother’s nail salon, and when a Book Club author was featured, Vuong recalls watching the salon workers “literally rise from their seats with poise and confidence, saying they’re gonna walk to the Barnes & Noble across the street and buy a book, suddenly armed with access to the discourse, and thereby in possession of the cultural center.”
Knowing that his own book is part of this lineage was truly “awe-inspiring,” he adds. Vuong’s only wish was that his mother, who died in 2019, were alive to share in the celebration.
“Among all the literary achievements in an author’s life,” he says, “this would be the one she truly recognises.” – Daily Oprah
