Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

23 reviews

voxlunae's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I think there's some great writing in here, even if I didn't connect with the narrator or the narration for the majority of it. However, I think it's far too verbose, and I'd find my attention drifting frequently during the many lengthy descriptions of things. My largest problem, though, is in this book's treatment of women. Every female character is reduced to a sexual object, even the narrator's mother to an extent, and Nguyen luxuriates needlessly in scenes of rape and detailed descriptions of pubescent masturbation, which felt gratuitous for no gain. This is similar in the depictions of violence. It just wasn't for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Rape

veronicats's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Violence, Gore, Racism, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, War, Sexual content, Slavery, Misogyny, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Torture

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

dark funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

it's extraordinary that this is nguyen's first novel, for the sympathizer is a blistering tale that examines dual worlds and perspectives, while also being a memorable story about friendship, all helmed by an unforgettable narrative voice.

tbh i dont feel qualified to critique this book, for it's obvious that its story, construction, ideas, and author operate on a higher plane entirely. i cant offer sh!t to it, only it to me, and boy it certainly does. what truly distinguishes the novel is its incisive dissection of identity and politics, as well as its ability to read america - w/ its contradictions, hypocrisy, iniquitous superiority - to absolute filth. i literally lost count of the quotes i like, so unstoppably the book barrels on from one thing to another, giving voice to truths most american readers harbor only in their subconscious or are overly accustomed to as to now be oblivious to them. 

aside from its themes and msgs, the story also stands well on its own. im surprised by how touching the self-labeled three musketeers' friendship is, and i cant rmb the last time male friendship moves me this much, this one bc of its devotion and mental sacrifice. my fav thing abt this book, however, def has got to be the unnamed narrator's voice, so genuinely funny yet oft dark. the way he says, describes, compares things are simply humorous, while also offering a deeper look into his character. it might not be a LOL kinda humor, but it's endlessly snort- and chuckle-inducing for sure, which is quite a feat in such a dark novel.

this novel isnt for those averse to serious subject matter, and some are advised to stay far away bc it can veer into macabre territory very quickly esp towards the end. but for those who can stomach the aforementioned, the book will reward u w/ a thought-provoking and truth-spilling story told thru an oft humorous and equally melancholic voice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Racism, Sexual violence, Body horror, Rape, Violence, Death, Torture, Murder, Colonisation, and Confinement

Moderate: Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Gun violence, Bullying, Racial slurs, Child death, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Suicide attempt and Death of parent

yvespiders's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, War, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Violence

kingsamong's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective slow-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Racial slurs, War, Murder, Racism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Sexual content

kelseyleigh_h's review against another edition

dark informative reflective slow-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual content, and Rape

aidrielle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

[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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Stalking, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

merle98's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Gore, Murder, Vomit, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Colonisation, Blood, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, and Abandonment

space_corgi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

Finishing this book took me months. And I do mean months. Do I still rate it at 4.75 stars? Yes, yes I do. 

As told in other reviews, the writing is VERBOSE. At some points, it is gratuitously verbose. But that is the voice of our narrator. An intellectual who is trying to dissect himself, but doesn’t quite get there until he is confronted with his own sins. If that sounds cool to you, you would like this book. Otherwise, this is not a spy novel. I mean, it is, but it’s more a reflection on power, control and war.

Also, I would say calling this a thriller is a stretch. You’ll be thrilled by certain passages that you want to underline, frame and paste on the folds of your brain lobes. But the pacing is slow. Arduously slow. And that doesn’t fall in line with a “thriller”. 

Now let’s hop into what wasn’t so great. The narrator’s view on women is complex and disgusting at points in the novel. The sexualization of war and disturbingly detached descriptions of women’s bodies is frankly tough to read through. It’s as if every male author who wants to be seen as intellectual subscribes to using sex/analogies to sex/sexual violence as a way to show the primitive nature of any action. Reverting to cavemen? What better way to illustrate than to bastardize all men through what (presumably) they all desire? Come on people. Let’s do better for all the women that have to read through this crap. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gun violence, Violence, Rape, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Racism, and Torture

Moderate: Vomit and Murder

Minor: Blood, Confinement, Classism, and Infidelity

hanna_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.0

 This book was full of dense and confusing prose, it felt like the author was choosing words just to show off his vocabulary and not because they were good descriptions. I found the plot hard to follow, and the dramatic tone shift at the end off putting. I have never shouted “eww!” out loud so many times while reading a book. It was full of unnecessarily graphic depictions of sexual topics, pedophilic fantasies, rape, bestiality/necrophilia (wish I could unread chapter 6), bowel movements, etc that did not add anything to the plot. The only things I liked was learning a bit about the Vietnam war.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Excrement, War, Violence, Torture, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, and Murder