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cover of episode With new novel, Ocean Vuong says he wants to reframe America as a place of salvage

With new novel, Ocean Vuong says he wants to reframe America as a place of salvage

2025/5/23
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Ocean Vuong: 我认为美国不应仅仅被视为一个充满机遇的地方，更是一个能够被救赎的地方。海和格拉齐娜都经历了地缘政治的动荡，他们如同被抛弃的碎片，但他们并没有因此沉沦，而是努力重建新的生活。这让我相信，即使在最黑暗的时刻，希望依然存在。在美国，年轻人和老年人常常被边缘化，他们被认为对社会进步的贡献不足，或已丧失生产力。然而，他们之间的共同点是深深的孤独感，而这种孤独感反而将他们紧密联系在一起。与格拉齐娜同住的经历让我意识到，我对她而言比对自己更有价值，这改变了我作为艺术家和个人的认知。我的梦想是创作一部小说，其中包含所有我热爱的事物，即使是那些不那么美好的部分。我相信，美与丑都能教会我们如何为人处世，如何相互学习。描述事物的方式揭示了我们是谁，即使是最丑陋的事物，也蕴藏着被救赎的潜力。因此，我希望通过我的作品，展现人性的光辉，即使在最黑暗的角落里，也能找到希望与救赎。

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Ocean Vuong's new novel, "The Emperor of Gladness," centers on an unlikely friendship between a young college dropout and an elderly woman with dementia. The story explores themes of war, survival, and the complexities of the American experience, challenging traditional notions of the American Dream.
  • Vuong's novel explores the shared experience of war and survival between two characters from vastly different generations.
  • The author challenges the traditional notion of the American Dream, reframing it as a place of salvage and resilience.
  • The unlikely friendship highlights the common ground between the young and the old, transcending racial and cultural differences.

Shownotes Transcript

Ocean Vuong's debut novel *On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous *placed him in an elite club of American writers. He teaches at NYU and is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, among many other honors. But before all this, the author was raised by working-class Vietnamese immigrant parents in Hartford, Connecticut. Vuong's new novel *The Emperor of Gladness *takes place in a similar environment and centers on an unlikely friendship between a 19 year-old college dropout named Hai and an 82-year-old with dementia named Grazina. In today's episode, Vuong joins NPR's Ari Shapiro for a conversation about reframing our view of the United States and the American dream, describing ugly things in a beautiful way, and Vuong's experience working in close quarters at a fast food restaurant.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)