{"id":667821,"date":"2025-07-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2025\/07\/03\/the-hardest-thing-in-the-world-is-to-live-only-once\/"},"modified":"2025-07-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T00:00:00","slug":"the-hardest-thing-in-the-world-is-to-live-only-once","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2025\/07\/03\/the-hardest-thing-in-the-world-is-to-live-only-once\/","title":{"rendered":"The hardest thing in the world is to live only once"},"content":{"rendered":"

? One tear-jerker coming right up.<\/strong> Vietnamese-American poet, writer, and On Earth We\u2019re Briefly Gorgeous author Ocean Vuong has mastered the art of writing in a manner so few can claim to have done. Vuong knows how to draw you in, keep you guessing, and strike when you least expect it. His debut novel <\/a>On Earth We\u2019re Briefly Gorgeous<\/a><\/a> proved as much, and his second novel, The Emperor of Gladness<\/a><\/strong>, proves his first wasn\u2019t just a lucky shot. <\/p>\n

The emperor.<\/strong> In The Emperor of Gladness<\/strong>, we follow Hai, a 19-year old Vietnamese-American boy. Hai seems to have lost all hope in life, and we first meet him as he contemplates ending it all. When fate \u2014 manifested in the form of an 80-year-old Lithuanian woman called Grazina\u2014 stops him from making the jump, Hai wonders if perhaps there\u2019s a way to turn his life around. After moving in with Grazina, Hai begins reflecting on his life, his dreams, what once was, and what may still be. <\/p>\n

Fast food, slow <\/strong>read<\/strong>.<\/strong> As the 19-year old finds a job in a restaurant in his wreck of a small town \u2014 East Gladness \u2014 our cast of characters begins to make themselves known. This isn\u2019t your average novel, however. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re familiar with Ocean Vuong, you\u2019ll know what\u2019s coming<\/strong>. If you\u2019re not, brace yourself. The Emperor of Gladness is quite different from Vuong\u2019s debut \u2014 which was written in the form of a series of letters from son to illiterate mother. Yet, certain themes and glaring similarities persist. While the novel itself is not based on a true story, it draws heavily from Vuong\u2019s own life. If you\u2019ve read Vuong\u2019s previous works, you\u2019ll likely be able to tell where the novel is headed \u2014 or at least, who Hai is as a character might not come as a surprise.<\/p>\n

Yet, The Emperor of Gladness still proves unputdownable.<\/strong> The novel is character-driven, and is poetic in nature. As much can be discerned from the very first chapter \u2014 one dedicated entirely to describing the all-but-abandoned town in which the story unfolds. Yet here\u2019s the thing about Vuong, no matter how many descriptors he may use, none of them are filler. You might begin a paragraph and wonder where it\u2019s taking you, only to have your jaw drop by the end of it. The novel discusses substance abuse, depression, the struggles of immigrants, and what family truly means.<\/p>\n

This is a slow read, and one you\u2019ll have to savor.<\/strong> If you\u2019re looking for a fast-paced plot-driven read, Vuong\u2019s second novel might not be for you. However, if a slow reading session with a cup of coffee in hand in a quiet corner sounds like a good time, you won\u2019t want to miss out on The Emperor of Gladness.<\/p>\n

WHERE TO FIND IT<\/strong>- You can place a special order for The Emperor of Gladness<\/strong> at The<\/a>Bookspot<\/a>, or get the e-book from Amazon<\/a>. Pro tip: Keep an eye out for it on Cherry Blossom Books<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If a slow reading session with a cup of coffee in hand in a quiet corner sounds like a good time, you won\u2019t want to miss out on The Emperor of Gladness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":667822,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7293],"tags":[9157,6653,8511,2397],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-667821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-from-the-bookstore","tag-book-review","tag-enterprise-weekend","tag-from-the-bookstore","tag-worth-reading","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"4d66a948-18cd-4087-b1c3-08eb342b18dd","order":"6","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2025\/6\/1597.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"The hardest thing in the world is to live only once","related_issue":[667810],"teaser":"If a slow reading session with a cup of coffee in hand in a quiet corner sounds like a good time, you won\u2019t want to miss out on The Emperor of Gladness.","voice_url":"https:\/\/s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/ent.news\/audio\/2025\/7\/.6fcb9e36-b6e5-4731-8b54-287814f5fa30.mp3"},"yoast_head":"\nThe hardest thing in the world is to live only once - 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