A review by lanna2000
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Wow I’m just getting into literary historical fiction and this is my first book on the Vietnam War. Been a minute since I took a while to finish a book but this one was DENSE. Had no idea where this book was going the entire time but I was hooked. It went thru so many different story arcs and when the ending hit i was surprised how dark everything was revealed. Very hard to rate bc while I enjoyed the majority of the novel, the end threw me for a loop and I didn’t enjoy the graphic and long r*** scene but I understand the relevance. I personally prefer content without those graphic scenes especially when the writer is too good with their descriptions. Def going to sit with this one for a bit and develop more opinions. 
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