Reviews

Sympatisören by Viet Thanh Nguyen

natcrap's review against another edition

5.0

his crime was feeling too much, caring too hard, and being misunderstood
exploring inner conflict, issues with identity, and racism against the backdrop of political extremism,violence and the aftermath/vietnam war's legacy rocked my brain and has made this one of the best reading experiences as of late or ever ... messed me up a bit...

4.5/5

meaghankd9's review against another edition

2.0

This was a big disappointment--I had high hopes based on both the premise and all the critical acclaim, but I came away feeling mildly annoyed and not much else, despite the supposedly rich emotional and political threads laid out in the story. The writing is dense and academic, which is fine, I like a challenging read now and again, but about half the characters ALSO don't have names and the dialogue ALSO isn't differentiated by any punctuation or paragraph breaks. This made it really hard to figure out what was going on in nearly every scene, and made getting through even one chapter a slog. The plot was all over the place and I literally rolled my eyes at the narrator's great revelation at the end (spoiler alert: communists say they fight for freedom and independence, but then when they win they take those things AWAY from non-believers in the most bureaucratic way possible! Never heard that one before!!). So many reviews describe this book as "gripping," but to me the writing style made any suspense or action feel stilted and half-baked, and similarly so for any passages which were meant to be emotional or philosophical. Two stars because the writing is deft, and certain passages were fun to read (mostly the narrator's observations about American life and its contradictions).

irritated_iris's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

paigedlee's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

khizirqureshi23's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

bethmara's review against another edition

2.0

If you want to read a totally original narrative style and do a deep dive into the trauma of war, this is your book.
I'm much more driven by characters than by politics and trauma, so and pull myself through this terribly sad book.
The protagonist walks you through his increasing understanding of all the levels of loss he and is his friends experienced during the Vietnam war. I brought my own optimism and hoping things were about to get better for all the people in this book. Optimism was not a useful tool when reading this.
They do not get better. Things get sickeningly violently worse. Is the point of this to show the pointlessness of war and violence?
Maybe... It was just a lot for me.

pziemlewicz's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.0

I don't get the hype.  There were good moments, there were slow parts, and scenes sensationalized to turn heads.  Personally, I could have done without the teenage protagonist having sex with a dead squid, and his adult self fantasizing about his friend's daughter. 

rj_bruce's review against another edition

dark sad 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

5.0

Finished this book feeling exactly how the author intended, rattled in a good way.

The prose is elegant and entrapping, the first person perspective of a northern Vietnam spy living in America serves the story exceptionally, especially towards the end. 

This was my first book about the Vietnam (American) War and I'm happy it was from a Vietnamese perspective. Difficult, dark, and beautiful, can't recommend enough. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

ekp10's review against another edition

4.0

The book is very well written. The first-person point of view is used as part of the plot and the point of view was changed to fit into the main character's mindset. It's very smart.
The duality question is the book's underlying moral compass. It's very interesting to see how one person's advantage could also be their undoing. There are many good points made, especially about being Asian-American. The immigrant refugee experience, the feeling of not fitting in even with your own people. The question of where one fits in if you identify with multiple group.
This is the first book I read about the Vietnam War from the Vietnamese's point of view. I learn a lot and I'm fascinated by the writing. The story is mixed with personal history, cultural myth, and the mass belief, the promise, the American dream. A very good read, although in a more intellectual level, not emotional.

ktgrier91's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced

4.75

Great spy thriller with well laid out critiques of American capitalism and military complex. Learned more from this book about the Vietnam war than schools ever taught me