Excerpt from The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"Thanks for this." The boy took a long drag from the bogie. "But I should go."

"Easy, little lamb. I invite you in my home, give you cigarette. And look," she tilted the pack to show him, "I only have two left. I even let you cry in my kitchen. You know it's bad luck to cry in the kitchen, right? You can at least tell me your name."

He stared at the plastic coverlet on the table pocked with holes and considered the name his mother gave him, the thought of it sinking him. It wasn't that he didn't like his name—only that he had been will¬ing to toss it in the river. He had never wanted to throw his name out, just the breath attached to it. The name, after all, was the only thing his mother gave him that he was able to keep without destroying.

"Hai," he mumbled.

"And hello to you too. But—"

"No, Hai. It's—"

"Okay," she breathed, "but who am I saying hello to?"

"My name is Hai."

"Your name is Hello?"

He decided to nod. "Sure."

"Ah." She brightened and pointed a crooked finger at him. "So your name is Labas!"

"What?"

"Labas means 'hello' in my country." She extended her hand across the table for him to shake. "Hello, Labas. I'm Grazina. Means 'beautiful.'" She grinned, the cigarette smoldering through her yellow teeth.

He shook her hand, cracked dry and warm. "Hello."

From The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong, published by Penguin Press, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2025 by Ocean Vuong.