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It’s official, Oprah Winfrey has announced her May book club pick!
On May 13, the former talk show host went to CBS Mornings to announce (alongside BFF Gayle King) that her latest selection is The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong.
“I picked it because I thought it was some of the most beautiful writing I’ve experienced in my lifetime,” Winfrey said of the novel, which was released yesterday, too. “I think it’s poetic literature and I think that Ocean Vuong’s ability to capture the essence of just ordinary people is like nobody I’ve ever experienced.”
“He is an extraordinary writer, one of the best of our time and for the ages,” she continued. “If you read the first chapter, you’re gonna be hooked.”
The Emperor of Gladness tells the story of a 19-year-old boy named Hai who, after hitting rock bottom, strikes up an unlikely friendship with Grazina, an 82-year-old woman with dementia who has been excluded by society. “It’s a heartfelt and powerful examination of two people at opposite ends of life, sharing the same experience of living on the fringes of society, and the unique challenges they face to survive and thrive,” Winfrey described.
‘The Emperor of Gladness’ by Ocean Vuong
In a touching interview with King, Vuong opened up about how much Winfrey’s stamp of approval means to him.
“It’s such an honor for me to have her pick the book because where I come from, working-class people, the act of reading could be very intimidating,” he said, noting that he used to see Winfrey’s book club as a point of entry for the women in his mother’s salon. “What she gave them was that she made the act of reading accessible,” he said.
“She gave them a ticket into the discourse, and that access means so much to me, especially as a first-generation immigrant, as a first-generation to go to college, as an educator,” he said.
The Emperor of Gladness is available now, get your copy today!
Before you go, click here to see all the highest-rated Oprah Winfrey book club picks.
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