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sus1969's review against another edition
3.0
Educational seeing the Vietnam War from a Vietnamese sympathizer’s perspective, but quotation marks exist for a reason. They allow the reader to know when a character is speaking. The lack of any quotation marks in this book left me with a big fat headache. I already had to think enough as this isn’t a light read, and having to figure out if someone was thinking or speaking, then figure out WHO was speaking…that’s a big fat no for me.
andibz's review against another edition
4.0
So well written, incredible story -- but I found it somewhat hard to get through.
greebytime's review against another edition
3.0
That was … a LOT. I think it was really well done but it wasn’t easy (nor, perhaps, should it have been.) A book I’ll probably need to think about more but initial reaction is good but not great.
kevbre2000's review against another edition
anti-war book depicting the particular horrors of the war fought in Vietnam by the america, and previously, france. A searing satire that's oddly funny at first the books takes a serious turn into the absolute horror of war and looks directly into the eyes of the beast. The horror...
alainabuzas's review against another edition
4.0
This reminded me so much of Rabbit Run, and the way Updike's characters narrate.
songofkenneth's review against another edition
5.0
The TV series which I loved so much (check it out) brought me here.
I enjoyed the prose, written in first person without some punctuation marks except when quoting someone else.
I have never read about the Vietnam war beyond the American POV movies. While this will not pass as historical fiction, it did give me a glimpse of the war (called "American war" in Vietnam) from the Vietnamese POV. I did not know they were colonized by the French, before the American occupation in the 'guise of preventing the spread of communism.
It is told with sarcasm, and a sense of humor and the lead character, "Captain" is a biracial man with a lot of the existential problem of biracial kids - who am I? The Vietnamese people do not accept me, and neither do the West - stuck in between. "Twice of everything" as his mom told him.
The book tells us about the fall of Saigon, the flight of the American backed South Vietnam as refugees to the USA and other parts of Europe. Their struggle with the change in social status - General to liquor store owner/Minister to chicken flipper at a fast-food restaurant. The overt and subtle racism they felt, the sadness of having lost a country while trying to fit into another.
Then there are the covert espionage operations still taking place in America in an attempt to launch a counter-attack in Vietnam.
Is freedom and independence worth the violence and loss? I highly recommend this book.
I enjoyed the prose, written in first person without some punctuation marks except when quoting someone else.
I have never read about the Vietnam war beyond the American POV movies. While this will not pass as historical fiction, it did give me a glimpse of the war (called "American war" in Vietnam) from the Vietnamese POV. I did not know they were colonized by the French, before the American occupation in the 'guise of preventing the spread of communism.
It is told with sarcasm, and a sense of humor and the lead character, "Captain" is a biracial man with a lot of the existential problem of biracial kids - who am I? The Vietnamese people do not accept me, and neither do the West - stuck in between. "Twice of everything" as his mom told him.
The book tells us about the fall of Saigon, the flight of the American backed South Vietnam as refugees to the USA and other parts of Europe. Their struggle with the change in social status - General to liquor store owner/Minister to chicken flipper at a fast-food restaurant. The overt and subtle racism they felt, the sadness of having lost a country while trying to fit into another.
Then there are the covert espionage operations still taking place in America in an attempt to launch a counter-attack in Vietnam.
Is freedom and independence worth the violence and loss? I highly recommend this book.
weaponizedfun's review against another edition
4.0
This book made me uncomfortable in a good way, and I can see why some would certainly want to give it a Pulitzer prize, and why some just cannot be engaged by it. War is hell, but so are the consequences, especially those displaced by it and having to deal with its aftermath. I thought Viet Tranh Nguyen's writing style was incredible, and whereas I normally detest novels that don't put the speaking bits in quotes, it didn't faze me here. Having spent many lunches in elementary schools among some of the Vietnamese American kids who only hinted at what they had to endure postwar, this book solidly knocks you over the head with a pretty amazing story, and I liked the nod to The Movie as well.
pasc96's review against another edition
5.0
A masterwork of both story and structure from a first-time novelist, The Sympathizer brings the reader to the edge of madness and back again, squirming and even laughing along the way. Nguyen never shies from the tough, eternal questions, and the unnamed narrator's split identities and muddled loyalties make the reader re-examine their own selves (personal, cultural, familial, religious). This is the rare book that made me want to start all over again once I read the last sentence.
hcoppola's review against another edition
3.0
The first 275 or so pages are great. They deal more with a search for identity & belonging & being a refugee. The last 100 pages are unfortunately some trite & hackneyed bs if you ask me.
esmemazzeo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
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