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A review by jess_mango
The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen
4.0
The Committed is a sequel to [b:The Sympathizer|23168277|The Sympathizer|Viet Thanh Nguyen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1423543886l/23168277._SY75_.jpg|42713530], which I haven't read, but has been on my TBR. But, I was told that you can read The Committed without first reading The Sympathizer and I found that to be COMPLETELY TRUE! Now I am going to go back and read everything by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
The Committed stars the same protagonist as The Sympathizer, a Vietnamese man who has survived the Re-education camps during the Vietnam War , worked as a spy, escaped to America and now, in this book, relocates to Paris, France. It's the 1970's and our un-named protagonist starts working for a crime boss who runs a Chinese restaurant as a front for his criminal activities. In the seedy underbelly of Paris, immigrants from former French colonies such as Vietnam and Algeria make their lives. There's sex & drugs, guns & action. But at the same time there's plenty of pondering about France's colonization of Vietnam and America's involvement in the war. There is also a lot of clever contemplation about race and identity. It's a high action, philosophical, literary read. Two thumbs up.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!
The Committed stars the same protagonist as The Sympathizer, a Vietnamese man who has survived the Re-education camps during the Vietnam War , worked as a spy, escaped to America and now, in this book, relocates to Paris, France. It's the 1970's and our un-named protagonist starts working for a crime boss who runs a Chinese restaurant as a front for his criminal activities. In the seedy underbelly of Paris, immigrants from former French colonies such as Vietnam and Algeria make their lives. There's sex & drugs, guns & action. But at the same time there's plenty of pondering about France's colonization of Vietnam and America's involvement in the war. There is also a lot of clever contemplation about race and identity. It's a high action, philosophical, literary read. Two thumbs up.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!