Reviews - Der Sympathisant

4.41k reviews for:

Der Sympathisant

Viet Thanh Nguyen

4.01 AVERAGE

sowall's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I feel like my thoughts about this book are very complicated. I enjoyed it but I also didn't really...get it? I don't know. It was really informative and interesting, and I feel like I will think about this book from time to time.

ajenny's review against another edition

4.5

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Loveable characters: Yes

hannahrosecohen92's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark informative slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

emilypieper's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny informative tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

love_inthelibrary's review against another edition

2.0

Great writing, but I did not connect with this book in any way. The characters were unsympathetic, the plot a bit confusing. Perhaps I am too uneducated about post-war Vietnam politics to see scathing political satire here. Perhaps the denouement is meant to be unsatisfying because that’s how it really felt. But I think you’d have to bring that feeling to the book, as the book did not bring me that feeing.

fiona_polgari's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Historical Fiction
Criteria Rating (1-5)
Historical Accuracy 4
Period Detail 4
Character Development 4
Plot Integration with History 3
Emotional Impact 2
Writing Style 4
Educational Value 4
Overall Enjoyment 3.5
Overall Score 3.5625

nicholetteb's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

nora_kane's review against another edition

4.0

challenging reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

weslynn's review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I love this book. Slow paced spy thriller that also gives a look into the history of the consequences of the Vietnam War. I thought this book beautifully capture how complicated being human is, and that few of us are truly good or truly bad.

Content Warnings

claudsreads99's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark emotional informative tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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