New Release
1
of
1
The Emperor of Gladness
Brief Description
The instant Sunday Times bestseller, a vibrant and heartbreaking story of unexpected friendship and how far people go to find a second chance. One late summer evening in the town of East Gladness, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge, ready to jump, when...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2499
$2800
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
OVERNIGHT NZ-WIDE DELIVERY
Found a better price? Request a price match
The Emperor of Gladness
$2499
$2800
Elsewhere:
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
The instant Sunday Times bestseller, a vibrant and heartbreaking story of unexpected friendship and how far people go to find a second chance.
One late summer evening in the town of East Gladness, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow.
From this moment, his second chance begins. Over the course of the year, Hai's story takes new and unexpected turns, as his life-altering bond with Grazina transforms his relationship to the community, his family and, most powerfully of all, to himself.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781529945850
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 28 May 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Vintage
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 35.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 500g
Pages: 416
About the Author
Ocean Vuong is the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collections Night Sky with Exit Wounds and Time Is a Mother, as well as the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling novel On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. A recipient of the MacArthur 'Genius Grant' and the American Book Award, he was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and currently splits his time between western Massachusetts and New York City.
Also by Ocean Vuong
View all-
The Emperor of Gladness
A masterful story of friendship and how much we're willing to risk to possess one of life's most treasured merciesβ a second chance. The Emperor of Gladness is the million-copy bestseller and TikTok sensation. Ocean Vuong returns with a big-hearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive. One late summer evening...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
The Sunday Times bestselling debut novel from the prize-winning prodigy. Sunday Times Bestseller Brilliant, heart-breaking and highly original, TikTok has fallen in love with Ocean Vuong's shattering portrait of a family. This is a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's...Paperback$2100Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Night Sky with Exit Wounds
Night Sky with Exit Wounds is the extraordinary debut from young Vietnamese American poet, Ocean Vuong. Winner of the 2017 T. S. Eliot Prize and the Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection, this book of poetry is unlike any other. Steeped in themes of war and cultural upheaval, and wielding a fresh new language, Vuong writes about the most...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$3700Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Time is a Mother
Discover the Sunday Times bestselling collection from the TikTok sensation and author of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous. 'One of the most important poets of his generation' ANDREW MCMILLAN, author of Physical 'Powerful' DUA LIPA 'Redefines our idea of what an elegy can do, what it is for' ILYA KAMINSKY, author of Deaf Republic In this deeply intimate second poetry...Paperback$3500Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Night Sky with Exit Wounds
The New Yorker, The Best Books of Poetry of 2016 Critics PickBest Books listingBest LGBTQ BooksTop 100 Books of the YearBest Books of 2016 "There is a powerful emotional undertow to these poems that springs from Mr. Vuong's sincerity and candor, and from his ability to capture specific moments in time with both photographic clarity and a sense of the...Paperback$3299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Emperor of Gladness: Oprah's Book Club
The instant New York Times bestseller β’ Oprahβs Book Club Pick β’ Named a Best Book of 2025 by TIME, The New Yorker, Harper's Bazaar, USA Today, NPR, People, Christian Science Monitor, Scientific American, and Kirkus Reviews β’ Longlisted for the 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence βStunning . . . A heartfelt and powerful examination of those living on...Hardback$7100Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks
More from General Fiction
View all-
The Wedding People
'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people β but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Theo of Golden
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came fromβ¦His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance β...Paperback$2899Elsewhere:$3499Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseOn Mystic Lake
One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...Paperback$3100Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseLand
Inspired by the mapping of Ireland in the mid nineteenth century, Land, theΒ new novel from the author of Hamnet, is at once intimate and epic: a portrait of a family navigating a legacy of upheaval and loss with love and hope. On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, TomΓ‘s and his reluctant son,Β Liam, are working for the great...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set
The Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set by Brandon Sanderson is a landmark fantasy series that has captivated readers worldwide. Renowned for its innovative magic system, intricate world-building, and compelling characters, this trilogy is a must-have for any fantasy enthusiast. Immerse yourself in a world shrouded in ash, where a once-hopeful land is ruled by the tyrannical Dark Lord, known as the...Set$6499Elsewhere:$7500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Signed BookplateNew ReleaseLight Wielder
THE EPIC CONCLUSION TO METAL SLINGER, AKA THE BOOK WITH THE PLOT TWIST THAT BROKE THE INTERNET Sail the seas. Master the blade. Protect your heart. What would you do to have it all? READERS ARE GOING WILD FOR *METAL SLINGER* βThe BEST plot twist to ever grace my Kindleβ βββββ βThe author is a mastermind. Romantasy is back!!!!β βββββ...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Project Hail Mary
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL A BARACK OBAMA READING PICK A lone astronaut. An impossible mission. An ally he never imagined. 'The most enjoyable hard SF I have read in years' GUARDIAN 'Weir's finest work to date... This is the one book I read last year that I am certain I can recommend to anyone, no matter who, and know...Paperback$2099Elsewhere:$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Deal
Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Deal now for the perfect fake-dating romance! She's about to make a deal with the college bad boy . . . Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns...Paperback$2499Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Project Hail Mary
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...Paperback$2399Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseYesteryear
A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE β Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE β Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE β Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS β Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale β Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3699Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThe Bookshop Detectives 3: Murder and Mojitos
Art Deco glamour, a Cuban crime queen and a grammar-obsessed killer collide in the #1 best-selling Bookshop Detectivesβ high-stakes final instalment. The Bookshop Detectives are on the case! Booksellers Garth and Eloise Sherlock (and their cowardly dog, Stevie) have been roped into hosting Murder and Mojitos, a glamorous Art Deco festival event starring Cubaβs queen of crime fiction. Between flapper...Paperback$3000Elsewhere:$3800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
20% offThe Wrath of the Fallen
SAMKIEL AND DIANNA WILL RETURN in the next sizzling, dark romantasy series from Amber V. Nicole. EPIC. SPICY. ADDICTIVE. Embrace the darkness . . . 'If you like romantasy, read this!' RAVEN KENNEDY 'A wicked ride from beginning to heart-shattering end. Leaving me literally screaming for more' HANNAH NICOLE MAERHER 'This is perfection. Amber Nicole's Dianna is the FMC of...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
General Fiction lists from the team
Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!
-
![]()
![]()
![]()
Hannah's listGeneral Fiction
Gothic Reads for Dark Nights
With the advent of movie adaptations like Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein, it looks like pop culture is seeing a revival of the...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Top 10 Most Recommended Books
These are my Top 10 books that I always recommend to my friends and whΔnau when they ask for recommendations for getting...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Books to Escape a Reading Slump
A reading slump can be a frustrating feeling and hard to break out of, but we've gathered together a list of crowd...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![Star Shipped]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Lizzy's Pride Fiction Picks!
June marks Global Pride Month so in case you're looking for your next great fiction read, here's a list of some of...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Lizzy's listGeneral Fiction
Readersβ Top 100 Novels of All Time - from The Guardian
There was some controversy when The Guardian released their critics and authors list of the top 100 novels of all time, but...View the list -
![]()
![]()
![]()
Shirl's listGeneral Fiction
Shirl's Favourite Books of 2026
The first half of 2026 has been packed with brilliant books, making it hard to choose favourites but here are a few...View the list
