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dreadpiraterudis's review against another edition
- 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
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
mshoneyyy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape
Minor: Racial slurs
sakisreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Grief, Colonisation, War, and Classism
pianoman543's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, Incest, Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, and Colonisation
mapmaker87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Murder, and Colonisation
bookishevy's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Most of the story is told through the confession of a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain working as a communist double agent who comes to the U.S. after Saigon has fallen. The unnamed narrator settles in LA and rebuilds a life among other Vietnamese refugees while secretly gathering intelligence and reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam.
The narrator makes the perfect spy because he's steeped in dualities. Born and raised in Vietnam but educated in the US. From the north but fighting alongside the south. He serves the Viet Cong but also sympathizes with anti-communists. He struggles with his identity, hence why he doesn't have a name. He says he's "able to see any issue from both sides." Herein lies his conflict.
In his confession to the Commandant, the narrator shares his feelings on his father's identity and how it affected his and his mother's lives, his views on the French and American occupations of Vietnam, how Asians are viewed in America and their stereotypical portrayals on film, how him being part French and his unaccented English made him more palatable to white Americans. He even talks about his love interests. But is he telling everything?
With themes like friendship, loyalty, and betrayal, this part satire spy thriller explores the legacy of the Vietnam war. I didn't think I would laugh out loud while reading this novel, but I did so quite a few times. Funny observations aside, this story deals with heavy, real-life issues like separation from loved ones and other horrors that come with war. I was stunned at the end of chapter 19.
This would have been a 5/5 for me if it weren't for how the dialogue was written. I've read books that don't have quotation marks, but Nguyen also places entire conversations in one paragraph. It's a dense read.
TW: War, violence, murder, graphic rape, torture, grooming, antiasian, and antiblack sentiment
I hope the series does it justice.
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Torture, Murder, and War
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
janineledet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual violence
badmom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Infidelity, Excrement, and Pregnancy
cassreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The ending was brutal to read (read TW). It definitely shows the brutality of war, the limits of sympathy, but I still feel unsure about it, and about the book's representation of women as a whole. Still working through that mentally.
Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and War
lavenderlion's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Confinement, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Colonisation, and War