Reviews

This is the best book I have read in a long time. I was blown away by the characterization of the narrator- a bastard from a poor Vietnamese mother and a French priest, and a Communist double agent working for South Vietnamese Intelligence. His strength was in being able to see both sides of any disagreement, but he also fell in between and never really belonged to any group. His strongest relationship is with two boyhood friends who try to save each other from trouble throughout the story.

The sympathizer's solitary story is sad, as he experiences the overrunning of Saigon and an escape to the US where he continues to report on the activities of the small resistance movement of the South Vietnamese Army to the Communist government in a reunited Vietnam. He is not able to enjoy the fruits of his sacrifices for his country because he was ordered to evacuate with a South Vietnamese general he once reported to.

The author shows well how the Vietnamese refugees live a sad shell of the life they used to have, being foreign immigrants on the lowest runs of US society. The Sympathizer observes others, comments on them from the two sides of his mind, but is also manipulated by many others. He compartmentalizes his life, allowing him to function in multiple worlds. He ends up back in Vietnam, but it is not the experience he had hoped for. The book is set up as him writing his confession within a confinement cell following his return. Many surprises abound and there are very graphic sections if you are squeamish. But it's so well written and it makes you think a lot about Vietnam, US involvement there, immigrants in the US, and how ordinary people can get swept up and harmed by the events of their day.