Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - The Sympathizer

[lots of thoughts i won't be able to expound] all i can say right now is i wish all asian american literature were like this (critical of the imperialist US that forcibly displaced many of them from their countries of origin in the first place)

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merle98's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Great book but I am detracting 0.5 stars for the fact that every single female character in the book is either a food-providing wife/mother, a love interest or sexual partner or being brutally raped/tortured/killed off to advance the male protagonist's plotline (or a mix thereof).

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kshertz's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The writing is beautiful which is to say, way above my reading/intelligence level. But at the end it does say it’s not for the dominant white groups so that makes sense. It’s not for me. It’s not linear, there’s no way a book about the Vietnam war is going to have a happy ending. But I learned a lot, which is the whole reason to read it and it challenged me. So, I recommend it if you want to be challenged and learn a lot.

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ronpayne's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kaseyd's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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bookmarkparty's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Well, I can see why this won a Pulitzer… such a unique and fascinating read!

This book came out in 2015, but I’m so glad I read it when I did. The parallels between the first few chapters and current events were truly uncanny.

While the Sympathizer is a work of fiction, its historical and political commentary is quite masterful. Beginning in 1975 at the tail-end of the Vietnam War (or the American War, as the Vietnamese refer to it), the book opens with our narrator and his “allies” fleeing to the airport in hopes of escaping Vietnam as Saigon falls to communist rule. After surviving numerous bombings at the airport and successfully fleeing to the United Sates aboard one of the last flights out of the county, our narrator - a communist spy serving as a captain in the South Vietnamese army - starts a new life in Los Angeles. Far from home, our protagonist is tasked with keeping an eye on the resistance as he maintains relationships with his fellow South Vietnamese refugees and reports back to the Viet Cong…. because “wars never die, they just go to sleep.”

I’ve read several Pulitzer Prize winning books that I enjoyed but didn’t necessarily feel were worthy of the most prestigious literary award. However, The Sympathizer deserves all the high praise. Not only does the book shed incredible light on the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, media and politics, but it’s laced with humor and self-deprecating satire as well as difficult-to-read historical evidence that proves no party is ever innocent in war.

One of the most interesting parts of the book, for me at least, was the reflection on the US involvement in (and sudden withdrawal from) the Vietnam War. The author, a Vietnamese American, leaves no party unscathed in his critique on the war and American culture.

“After all, nothing was more American than wielding a gun and committing oneself to die for freedom and independence, unless it was wielding that gun to take away someone else’s freedom and independence.”

If you are remotely interested in history, politics, international relations and/or just excellent literature, this is a must read!

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jthuctran's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

a lot to think about. it was overall a meaningful read - something that'll stick with me for a long time.

the big critique i have with this is that the middle section aka the bulk of the book

(where he goes to work on that film abroad, and later gets injured at his mother's fake grave)

felt as though it was just one big filler episode. i didn't quite see the point in it, there was some meaning in it but it felt like it dragged on for longer than it should have, and i was praying and praying for it to be done with.

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