Virginia Evans

1 month ago | csmonitor.com | Ocean Vuong |Brendan Slocumb |James B. Comey |Virginia Evans

These are the fiction titles that Monitor reviewers like best this month. The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean VuongAt the heart of Ocean Vuong’s achingly beautiful novel “The Emperor of Gladness” is a despairing, bookish 19-year-old Vietnamese American man who forges unexpected bonds with strangers. These include an 82-year-old World War II refugee from Lithuania and co-workers at a fast-food restaurant.