Oprah Winfrey has chosen Ocean Vuong's The Emperor of Gladness (Penguin Press) as the latest Oprah's Book Club Pick. Winfrey said, "Those of you who are Ocean Vuong fans or have read his previous book or his poetry understand that he is an extraordinary writer, one of the best of our time and for the ages. I am thrilled and I feel privileged to tell you about this new Book Club selection."
"It was the honor of my life to receive 'the call' from Oprah," said Vuong. "Beyond the immense pride this moment instills in me, Oprah's Book Club has made reading accessible and approachable to the working-class communities of my childhood."
As Vuong was growing up, The Oprah Winfrey Show played every day in his mother's nail salon, and when a Book Club author was featured, Vuong recalled watching the salon workers "literally rise from their seats with poise and confidence, saying they're gonna walk to the Barnes & Noble across the street and buy a book, suddenly armed with access to the discourse, and thereby in possession of the cultural center."
Knowing that his own book is part of this lineage is truly "awe-inspiring," he added. Vuong's only wish is that his mother, who died in 2019, were alive to share in the celebration: "Among all the literary achievements in an author's life, this would be the one she truly recognizes."
Oprah interviewed Vuong for the latest episode of Oprah's Book Club: Presented by Starbucks, available here.