babsellen's review against another edition
5.0
I loved The Sympathizer and feel it added so much to the human experience of war in all its dastardly aspects. It had an involving story and sympathetic characters. The Committed was different, although it followed the story of our Man of Two Minds from The Sympathizer. It was helpful, but not necessary, to have read The Sympathizer first (you can do a search for characters from the first book and get a general knowledge of who they are). But if you haven't started with the first book, I would recommend reading it after the Committed. It will answer some questions.
The Committed irritated me starting out - I found the narrator to be rather repetitive (obsessed) about his mental state - a noxious cocktail of Guilt and Shame. And also supposedly dead. I wanted to scream, "Get over yourself!" The barrage of cynicism and unlikeable characters - the intellectuals, the Vietnamese Parisian underworld, the narrator himself - at first. However, sticking with it paid off in spades. Like all great fiction, the character had an evolution of sorts, as did the story. I ended up finding the book very engaging, the writing superb. The scenes of violence were like watching a Marvel cartoon battle play out, but what pleased me most was that the book was chock full of spot-on political and cultural observations and wildly humorous with satire and word play. Nguyen's narrator had a lot to say and I found most of it extremely compelling.
I look forward to the final installment of what will be a trilogy (beginning with The Sympathizer), which I've read he is working on now, as well as a memoir. I consider Nguyen to be a leading thinker of our time.
The Committed irritated me starting out - I found the narrator to be rather repetitive (obsessed) about his mental state - a noxious cocktail of Guilt and Shame. And also supposedly dead. I wanted to scream, "Get over yourself!" The barrage of cynicism and unlikeable characters - the intellectuals, the Vietnamese Parisian underworld, the narrator himself - at first. However, sticking with it paid off in spades. Like all great fiction, the character had an evolution of sorts, as did the story. I ended up finding the book very engaging, the writing superb. The scenes of violence were like watching a Marvel cartoon battle play out, but what pleased me most was that the book was chock full of spot-on political and cultural observations and wildly humorous with satire and word play. Nguyen's narrator had a lot to say and I found most of it extremely compelling.
I look forward to the final installment of what will be a trilogy (beginning with The Sympathizer), which I've read he is working on now, as well as a memoir. I consider Nguyen to be a leading thinker of our time.
bundy23's review against another edition
2.0
A rambling disjointed mess of a novel that was an absolute slog to read... I gave up about 2/3rds of the way way through because I just don't care about overly long, unrealistic political arguments from uninteresting, cardboard cut-out characters.
ahawkin11's review against another edition
4.0
**Thank you to NetGalley and and Grove Press for the eARC of this title.**
I am several months late in getting this review out as it took me a couple of tries to get into. The idea of this book appealed to me, but I had a hard time getting into the plot through all of the stream of consciousness from the main character and the very vivid descriptions of torture. I understand the point is to draw light to things that have happened in history in an impactful way, but it was a bit much for me at times.
This was also presented as a stand-a-alone novel which it can be, but apparently other novels from the author give a better lead into the story and don't plunge you into what feels like the middle of the plot.
I did enjoy the internal / "split" chaos that the main character endured and found his views of the world to be incredibly interesting. Seeing his interaction with different people and some of the apathy he experience at certain situations was eye opening.
Overall, this book wasn't for me but it was incredibly well written and I will definitely be giving this author another try based on that. 4 stars for strong character development, great writing, and being outside the norm of most of the things I read. I would recommend this book for fans of historical/war fiction and action novels.
I am several months late in getting this review out as it took me a couple of tries to get into. The idea of this book appealed to me, but I had a hard time getting into the plot through all of the stream of consciousness from the main character and the very vivid descriptions of torture. I understand the point is to draw light to things that have happened in history in an impactful way, but it was a bit much for me at times.
This was also presented as a stand-a-alone novel which it can be, but apparently other novels from the author give a better lead into the story and don't plunge you into what feels like the middle of the plot.
I did enjoy the internal / "split" chaos that the main character endured and found his views of the world to be incredibly interesting. Seeing his interaction with different people and some of the apathy he experience at certain situations was eye opening.
Overall, this book wasn't for me but it was incredibly well written and I will definitely be giving this author another try based on that. 4 stars for strong character development, great writing, and being outside the norm of most of the things I read. I would recommend this book for fans of historical/war fiction and action novels.
adina_zeling's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Gore, Gun violence, Colonisation, Death, Racism, Cursing, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Alcoholism, Excrement, and Suicide
sarah3492's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best novels I’ve ever read. Simply magnificent.
roll_n_read's review against another edition
Shae read this a few weeks ago and based on her comments I thought I might not enjoy this as much as The Sympathizer. I guess if I’m honest this didn’t quite hit me as hard as The Sympathizer did, but I actually really loved this book. I feel like a lot of the characters that we invested in emotionally in the first book reappeared in ways that felt meaningful, everyone from Sonny and the Crapulent Major to Bon and Man to Lana and even reminiscences of Claude.
This was a bit more of an action movie compared with the first book, but no less philosophy-packed. The narrator’s inner ruminations and ongoing dialog with his ghosts is brilliantly written. Add to all that the bonus of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s witty wordplay and character-nicknaming skills…The Cowboy, Ronin, Mona Lisa, etc.
This was a bit more of an action movie compared with the first book, but no less philosophy-packed. The narrator’s inner ruminations and ongoing dialog with his ghosts is brilliantly written. Add to all that the bonus of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s witty wordplay and character-nicknaming skills…The Cowboy, Ronin, Mona Lisa, etc.