Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

24 reviews

fluoresensitive's review

challenging 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

3.0

Tw; rape, so ... So many unsettling things
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Beautifully written, but shockingly anti-Black at times. Not to mention the two rapes that take place, oof.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Blood, Violence, Xenophobia, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Murder, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Death

leah_alexandra's review

challenging dark funny reflective medium-paced

4.0

Nearly 5 stars if not for some spoiler content below. The writing is phenomenal. The narrative is gripping and really creates a sense of forward momentum that makes it hard to put the book down. 

This book was 5 stars for me until the scene where the female agent is raped at the end. I fully understand that rape and sexual torture are unfortunately not an uncommon part of military activity, and do not object to depicting that content in books. However, this scene was used as the pivotal event in "helping" the narrator complete his "reeducation," and I am uncomfortable with the use of rape/sexual torture as primarily a device that moves another (male) character's story forward.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, Racism, Violence, Murder, Alcoholism, Blood, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Xenophobia, Child death, and Racial slurs

sarahsthoughtsonbooks's review

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I don't know which books it was competing against, it deserves the Pulitzer and any other awards it won. 

Also satire goes over my head, so I might have missed things. 

This book made me put down the book then go down a rabbit hole of Wikipedia to learn more about the Vietnam War (or as it's also known, The American War). Love how Viet Thanh Nguyen wasn't pulling any punches, and he was not necessarily writing to the white audience or those without a working knowledge about the war.

Two themes that I picked up that on - not all on screen representation is good (parody/fictionalisation of Apocalypse Now), and belonging (will probably explore more of this in my IG caption).

Also, while the author has likely done many podcasts interviews, I highly recommend listening to Asian Enough, Season 1, Episode 2. It's my absolute favorite season 1 episode (and John Cho was the guest in the first episode, so that's a high bar in my eyes)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Genocide, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Misogyny, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Torture

harry's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gun violence, and Violence