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A review by pangnaolin
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I read this book in a week and really adored it! It's definitely not a super quick read though i wouldn't say it's particularly dense or difficult, but it was certainly worth it. The book is, for the most part, pretty straight forward-- about a North Vietnamese spy and his relationship with duality, emphasized by him being what he calls a "sympathizer," someone who can always see both sides of an experience (and a reference to the concept of the communist sympathizer).
However, although the book does directly introduce the reader to the fact that what we are reading is his "confession letter," we quickly forget this fact when no more details are provided and it sinks into incredible detail, just as any other novel would. In the last chapters of the book, this aspect of the novel returns in full force, and the linear, straightforward qualities of The Sympathizer are completely demolished as we begin to read about his current experiences of a Vietnamese re-education camp and the spiritual (and confusing to the reader) awakening he has.
I think these last chapters really brought this book to an amazing end and built perfectly upon all of the emotional intensity of the novel, and while it confused me and made it a harder read, I also really loved it. It was incredibly creative and just really well done.
On top of all that, I think I got a much fuller, more emotional understanding of the Vietnam War beyond just series of events and I'm really glad I read it! I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who's even remotely interested in it, though it does discuss some intense topics, so I also recommend taking the time to research what difficult material it contains and think about whether you're able to read it.
However, although the book does directly introduce the reader to the fact that what we are reading is his "confession letter," we quickly forget this fact when no more details are provided and it sinks into incredible detail, just as any other novel would. In the last chapters of the book, this aspect of the novel returns in full force, and the linear, straightforward qualities of The Sympathizer are completely demolished as we begin to read about his current experiences of a Vietnamese re-education camp and the spiritual (and confusing to the reader) awakening he has.
I think these last chapters really brought this book to an amazing end and built perfectly upon all of the emotional intensity of the novel, and while it confused me and made it a harder read, I also really loved it. It was incredibly creative and just really well done.
On top of all that, I think I got a much fuller, more emotional understanding of the Vietnam War beyond just series of events and I'm really glad I read it! I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who's even remotely interested in it, though it does discuss some intense topics, so I also recommend taking the time to research what difficult material it contains and think about whether you're able to read it.