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PRODID:-//Palaner//palaner Single Event//EN
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CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
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UID:meetup-02c7d1192a@palaner.app
DTSTAMP:20260802T170945Z
DTSTART:20260804T223000Z
DTEND:20260805T000000Z
SUMMARY:Book to be discussed: “The Emperor of Gladness” by Ocean Vuong
LOCATION:Jefferson Market Library
DESCRIPTION:Saved in Palaner as: saved\n\nPalaner match: 40% · why: lots of
  people going\n\n"Ocean Vuong returns with an achingly beautiful novel abo
 ut chosen family\, unexpected friendship\, and the stories we tell ourselv
 es in order to survive.\n\nOne late summer evening in the post-industrial 
 town of East Gladness\, Connecticut\, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the 
 edge of a bridge in pelting rain\, ready to jump\, when he hears someone s
 hout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina\, an elderly widow suc
 cumbing to dementia\, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and o
 ut of options\, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the y
 ear\, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond\, one built on empat
 hy\, spiritual reckoning\, and heartbreak\, with the power to alter Hai’s 
 relationship to himself\, his family\, and a community at the brink.\n\nFo
 llowing the cycles of history\, memory\, and time\, The Emperor of Gladnes
 s shows the profound ways in which love\, labor\, and loneliness form the 
 bedrock of American life. At its heart is a brave epic about what it means
  to exist on the fringes of society and to reckon with the wounds that hau
 nt our collective soul. Hallmarks of Vuong’s writing – formal innovation\,
  syntactic dexterity\, and the ability to twin grit with grace through ten
 derness – are on full display in this story of loss\, hope\, and how far w
 e would go to possess one of life’s most fleeting mercies: a second chance
 ." — goodreads.com\n\nAfter the meeting\, we head over to Julius' (one of 
 the oldest operating gay bars in NYC) to chat about things other than book
 s. Julius' is at 159 West 10th Street (on the corner of Waverly Place\, ab
 out a block from the library). www.juliusbarny.com
URL:https://www.meetup.com/nyc-gay-guys-book-club/events/312719185/
CATEGORIES:palaner,saved
STATUS:TENTATIVE
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