The Emperor of Gladness
by Ocean Vuong
★ Top 25 book of 2025 · #23 on Best Books of 2025
Ocean Vuong, a Vietnamese American writer, released this novel in 2025 after announcing it in April 2024. It came out on May 13, with Penguin Press releasing it in the United States and Jonathan Cape publishing it in the United Kingdom.
Best for: Readers following new novels from Vietnamese American writer Ocean Vuong
The Emperor of Gladness is #23 on BookWard's Best Books of 2025, out of 30 2025 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Emperor of Gladness is about
Ocean Vuong, the Vietnamese American writer, returns with a novel published in May 2025, following its announcement the previous spring. It came out through Penguin Press in the United States and Jonathan Cape in the United Kingdom. Little is confirmed here about its story, so readers are best served by approaching it fresh. It is a new work of fiction from an author whose readers will likely be eager to see what he turns to next.
The Emperor of Gladness on the Best Books of 2025
The Emperor of Gladness came out in 2025. Of the 30 books first published in 2025 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #23 on our Best Books of 2025 list.
Why it made the list: 300 readers have shelved it on Open Library; its Wikipedia page averaged 4,516 views a month recently. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2025 list
- Death of the Author Nnedi Okorafor, #21
- Beautiful Ugly Alice Feeney, #22
- The Rose Field Philip Pullman, #24
- Not Quite Dead yet Holly Jackson, #25
See all Best Books of 2025 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2024.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 41 want to read it, 0 are reading it now and 4 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Wikipedia: its article averaged 4,516 views a month recently.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 90 | 45% |
| Reader love | 67 | 20% |
| Being read right now | 33 | 15% |
| Attention | 27 | 20% |
Questions about The Emperor of Gladness
When was The Emperor of Gladness published?
The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong was first published in 2025.
Was The Emperor of Gladness one of the best books of 2025?
The Emperor of Gladness is #23 on BookWard's Best Books of 2025, out of 30 2025 books that cleared our data bar. 300 readers have shelved it on Open Library; its Wikipedia page averaged 4,516 views a month recently.
Why is The Emperor of Gladness on the Best Books of 2025 list?
300 readers have shelved it on Open Library; its Wikipedia page averaged 4,516 views a month recently.
More of the best books of 2025
- The Secret of Secrets Dan Brown, #1
- Katabasis R. F. Kuang, #2
- Atmosphere Taylor Jenkins Reid, #3
- Onyx Storm Rebecca Yarros, #4
- If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies Eliezer Yudkowsky, #5
- Wild Dark Shore Charlotte McConaghy, #6
See the full Best Books of 2025, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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