Reviews with content warning for War - The Sympathizer

I just could not get into this book. Like at all. It wasn't particularly interesting nor engaging. To me it reads more like a really long, kind of boring (sorry) journal entry. I might come back to it one day, though.

Edit: I did in fact end up coming back to this book. While it was still painfully slow sometimes, it was beautifully written. It was insightful, dark, and humorous.

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ginafly's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book is such a wild ride. It was so clever, funny, and engaging. The prose was just beautifully droll and funny. Reminded me of Don Delilo but also maybe Ian McEwan a little bit. Such seering commentary on colonialism, racism, war, and loyalty. Can't wait to watch the HBO series and read the sequel.

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hanyaya's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

5.0

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sakisreads's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The Sympathizer was a tough read for me; I had little understanding of the context and the descriptions felt long-winded 😳 I also kept picking it up and then putting it back down, so perhaps my disjointed reading didn't help either.

I can understand, though, why it won a Pulitzer Prize. It does not shy away from the horrors of the war (which is often depicted as the 'Vietnam War' by American people and the 'American War' by Vietnamese people, and as Viet Thanh Nguyen points out in an interview happened in Cambodia and Laos). The unnamed narrator faces some horrific fates and also does some horrific things; there is no denying this.

I definitely did not expect Man, his 'blood brother' to be the Commissar hired to be the 'reeducator' (torturer)! 😫

I am giving it 3 out of 5 stars and would still recommend to people who are looking for a challenging, dark but fascinating tale on what it means to be a spy for two opposing sides! Thank you ✨

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lifesarosch's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

I get why everyone raved about this. Truly stunning whole crap. My favorite part was probably the film section.

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aniquegrace's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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