Ocean Vuong: "The Emperor Of Gladness" | Oprah's Book Club

The Oprah Podcast

Harpo

Society & Culture

4.6 • 711 Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

BUY THE BOOK! The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-emperor-of-gladness/id6736382187 https://open.spotify.com/episode/50VqT29k6PQqGQzUnenogD In this episode of Oprah’s Book Club: Presented by Starbucks, Oprah sits down with acclaimed author Ocean Vuong to discuss his much-anticipated new novel, The Emperor of Gladness. Chosen as the 114th Oprah’s Book Club selection, The Emperor of Gladness reveals the many ways love, labor and loneliness show up in American life. The novel begins on a summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, where nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge ready to jump. An elderly widow suffering from dementia intervenes and the unlikely pair form a life-altering bond. In this episode, Ocean discusses this deeply personal narrative and his gift of illuminating the fullness of humanity in the most ordinary of places. Oprah and Ocean are joined by a live audience in a Starbucks Café in Chicago, enjoying the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso, layered with flavors of brown sugar, cinnamon and Starbucks® Blonde Espresso Roast. Follow Oprah Winfrey on Social: Instagram Facebook TikTok Listen to the full podcast: Spotify Apple Podcasts #oprahsbookclub Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Everybody, hello!
0:05.0	Hello!
0:08.0	Let me introduce you to this genius man, Ocean Vong.
0:12.0	Say hello.
0:13.0	Everybody here's read the book.
0:17.0	Oh.
0:18.0	Thank you.
0:19.0	Okay, ready class?
0:23.6	I love us for so much.
0:28.0	Hi, everybody, a warm welcome to you.
0:33.0	Thanks for joining us for Oprah's Book Club, presented by Starbucks.
0:39.8	It's so good to be here in my old sweet home Chicago at a cozy Starbucks cafe.
0:47.3	I think it's a great place to meet a friend and connect over a good book and a delicious cup of curated coffee.
0:52.9	The pairing for this book club pick is an ice brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso.
0:57.5	They say it's the ultimate pick me up. So my 114th book club selection, we're here to talk about it today. And I just have to say, I have to stop myself from
1:03.1	tearing up when I think about this book because it is epic. It is poignant. It is
1:11.0	hauntingly beautiful.
1:13.6	And I read it
1:14.8	back in October and I
1:16.9	still sometimes wake up
1:18.8	thinking about the characters.
1:20.5	The book is called the Emperor
	...

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