Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

30 reviews

rutabagab's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Excrement, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and War

I loved this book UP until the last 3-5 chapters. Finishing it was difficult bc it threw me for a disturbing AF loop.

dreadpiraterudis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

Such a breathtaking read. Engaging, painful, poignant and just a fucking good book. It engages with politics, philosophy, history and media through a protagonist who felt so alive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

girljames's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Fascinating insight into Vietnamese politics, and the war and its fallout from a Vietnamese perspective. Compelling, sympathetic main character. Pretty horrific ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Rape, and Torture

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Alcoholism

Minor: Colonisation

jennymwoo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful 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

4.0

This novel is hard to review because it's so many different books in one. There's the war novel, the refugee novel, and the social critique. The tone veers from serious to hilarious in the blink of an eye, which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. The first part of the novel reminds me of South Park in both its satire and its crudeness (Exhibit A: the squid scene). Then we take a detour into Apocalypse Now territory before concluding with an ending reminiscent of 1984. It's a lot, and not all of it works as well as it could 
However, at its heart is a powerful tale of three best friends and the secrets and sacrifices that bind them together. That novel is five stars all the way. 

(Did I reduce my rating because of the lack of quotation marks? No, but it was very confusing in the beginning figuring out the difference between dialogue and narration. If a grammar snob like me can get past that, it must be a book worth reading.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Torture

Moderate: Body horror, Racism, and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Alcoholism

Content Warning: The end of the book contains graphic depictions of torture and rape. While not gratuitous, it is disturbing.

stalfos's review against another edition

challenging dark funny medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent

entommoore's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture

Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, and War

Minor: Alcoholism and Vomit

linthemountains's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Classism

sofxaim's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

sakisreads's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Grief, Colonisation, War, and Classism

pianoman543's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and War

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Incest, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, and Colonisation