Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Sympathizer

A tense spy novel with searing political and cultural commentary that brings light to a side of the Vietnam (or American, depending on where you are from) War that is not normally seen. The story is dense, and at times chaotic and frustrating, but there are also so many important and eye-opening criticisms and ideas to take away. Point blank, it's just so important to consume art from the point of view of people who are not a dominant power. One criticism I'll make is that men... just love to write about women in a certain way... and I'll just leave it at that lol. I understand why some of the character's had to be the way that they did, but there's a running theme with all the women, even the protagonist's mother, that just didn't really need to be there for ALL of them in my opinion.

Content Warnings

joshloftin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative 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

An incredibly well-written book with a compelling narrator. The journey of the nameless narrator

from Vietnam to America and back

is at times tense, other times enlightening.

Although driven by a complex and constantly evolving plot, many passages of the book read more like poetry. As a reader, I found myself torn between wanting to move the plot forward or savoring the current passages.

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hopscotchreads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

As a wasian/hapa myself, this hit close to home. I still think about my favorite quotes. Lots of important conversations here. But some of the writing is pointlessly verbose and there's a men-writing-women feel that is super annoying sometimes.

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crystaljohnsonb's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny reflective tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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naomiestaller's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny 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

An important read for understanding the American/Vietnam war and the tension between democracy, authoritarianism, and what happens when revolutions succeed.

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