Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Sympathizer

Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

151 reviews

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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annachristy's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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stalfos's review against another edition

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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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teacherseth's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny hopeful tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I liked this book, but at times it was hard to get through. I appreciated it greatly for what it was most intended: a reeducation of the Vietnam war, one that I did not live through but always heard about from an American perspective. The darkly comedic tone was good, but the writing was a bit overdone at times.

Trigger warning: the torture scenes are intense.

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