THE EMPEROR OF GLADNESS

Thanks to James Aaron Oh, listeners don't need to have grown up in New England to fall in step with the East Gladness transients in this audiobook. Oh introduces listeners to the region through the poetic perspective of Hai, a troubled Vietnamese son whose failure to realize the American dream haunts him so much that he's preparing to jump off a bridge. Above the churning waters, toxic with industrial runoff, he's saved by a Lithuanian guardian angel named Grazina, who speaks like an "Eastern European sailor." As they convalesce together, Oh's growl reveals Grazina's painful past and uncertain future, while Hai's diverse fast-food co-workers provide riotous relief. Oh's sensitive multicultural narration often grounds Vuong's lofty language, rooting his luminous prose with the gritty realities of these characters' lives. K.L.L. © AudioFile 2025, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2025]