THE EMPEROR OF GLADNESS, O. VuongOcean Vuong returns with an achingly beautiful novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive. One late summer evening in the post industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen year old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him