Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Sympathiser by Viet Thanh Nguyen

55 reviews

luciuh's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

this is a good ass book. read it for school and wrote an essay, and it is so good. it is very heavily loaded and takes a second to read but it’s totally worth it. it’s very blunt to the point where the satire becomes too real (but still very enjoyable), and is a very interesting exploration of the dynamics between the vietnamese and the american. it is a very unique story regarding the vietnam war, nice

 i  think it’s necessary to mention that you should def check trigger warnings especially for the last chunk of the book, especially for the rape scene.

edit:  it’s interesting because it’s more on the aftermath of the vietnam war from the perspective of someone not quite vietnamese but also certainly not american

edit again: forgot to mention, it is so sexist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

fongyay's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Racial slurs, and Vomit

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, and Death of parent

miggins321's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, and War

bagxofxtricks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

kimmiereadsalot's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective medium-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

4.25

So wow. What a ride. I sympathize with the Sympathizer. This story is really something. Way outside my normal genre. But I’m so glad I read it. It’s very cerebral but also written for the every man. 

The last third was really hard for me to listen to. I’m still glad I did. I really do think this is a great read. And worth reading. The way the author never stop playing on the duality of the narrator’s situation—superb. 

Highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, and Murder

Moderate: Death

Minor: Body shaming and Child death

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

ning_aling's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

A book that was absorbing to say the least, the main character's voice is really strong and the struggles that he faces within himself and with his environment and the people around him are incredibly compelling. It has some very dark scenes, as can be expected with a reflection of the brutality of the Vietnam War on the population. Really has all the makings of a modern classic, which looks at the absurdity of fate and the constant process of reinvention. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Rape, Torture, Murder, and War

Moderate: Gore, Racism, Excrement, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail

claire_the_bookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Murder, and War

erenreads12's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense 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

3.75

Some aspects of this felt a little confusing - I felt as though this book wasn't quite what I expected from the description; less a tale of espionage and more a commentary of media and literature in the wake of the Vietnam War, with admittedly very elegant and deep understanding of race and racism. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing - more that it simply wasn't quite what I anticipated. The last 100 pages or so, however, were brutal and unexpected - equally well written, but somehow out of kilter with the relatively jovial themes running through the rest of the book. Overall a confusing read, but still engaging and interesting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Racism

bjerz's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

The Sympathizer is like a perfect sculpture, achingly beautiful as you gaze upon it, then you realize that the face is twisted into an ugly, distorted mask of agony.  The writing is challenging (I had to look up a LOT of words) yet both delicious and often funny.  You will come away with a new appreciation of what the victims of war go through.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, and Colonisation