The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. This is the story of Hai, a Vietnamese immigrant to America where he lives in the town of East Gladness, Connecticut where, at the most difficult moment of his life he’s befriended by Grazina, an 82 year old Lithuanian widow. They become each other’s support person, an unlikely pairing but each of them living lives so far away from the promised American Dream. It’s a masterly portrait of life for the underdog, from a world that the author clearly knows well. His previous book, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, was widely applauded and positively reviewed.

The Warrior by Christopher Clarey. The subject of this book is Rafa Nadal, with a terrific and very familiar image of him on the cover. The author wrote a previous book called The Master, about Roger Federer, and has covered tennis for many years, having unprecedented access to these top players. It covers Rafa’s life from the time he first held a racquet, all the way through to his decision to retire and everything that happened in between. Perfect for followers of tennis, and fans of Nadal. 

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