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The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Literary fiction

The Sympathizer

by Viet Thanh Nguyen

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Quick take

When both sides are beautiful and corrupt, is betrayal the only option?

Why I love it

Occasionally a book comes along that you can't believe hasn't already been written. The Sympathizer is just such a book: an intellectual spy novel about the end of the Vietnam War that is, in equal parts, a thriller, a portrait of Republican Vietnamese in defeat and exile, and a psychological novel about the varieties of ambivalence thoughtful people must endure when living through complicated times. The book is addictive and compelling and mysterious all at the same time.

The narrator, who manages his confession quite well without a name, is a Communist double agent in the entourage of a defeated South Vietnamese General. His position is complicated by his status as half-Vietnamese, half-European and his problem is that he loves everyone. He loves Vietnam and wants it to be free. He loves America and all its luxury and frankness. He loves Communism and all its magnificent idealism. He loves capitalism and its gorgeous vapid consumerism. In long letters describing his new life in California to his Communist handler, the descriptions are testaments both to the beauty of America, and simultaneously to his dedication to serving its enemies. His fellow feeling extends to everyone and he never seems quite sure of whom he wants to betray or why. He never quite seems sure whom he belongs to and who belongs to him. And all these overlaid contradiction make for fascinating reading.

The spy's position makes him an ideal observer for a novel. He notes every detail with supreme cynicism and attention. Even the carpet of the office of Chair of Asian Studies becomes a grim political point: "He had hung an elaborate Oriental rug on his wall, in lieu, I suppose, of an actual Oriental." The thrill of The Sympathizer is in the sympathy, which becomes a surprisingly dangerous emotion. For a guy who sides with everybody and nobody, the inevitable question is which side will he end up on. The deeper question is: does it matter? When both sides are beautiful and corrupt, is betrayal the only option?

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Literary fiction
View all
Intermezzo
The Book of George
Real Americans
Dirty Diana
Wellness
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
The God of the Woods
Same As It Ever Was
Annie Bot
Bear
Mercury
True Biz
Family Happiness
The Lady Waiting
The Other Valley
Hard by a Great Forest
Good Material
The Bullet Swallower
Happy All the Time
Rental House
Alice Sadie Celine
Let Us Descend
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Shark Heart
Homeseeking
Transcendent Kingdom
Hello Beautiful
Dominicana
What's Mine and Yours
The Unsettled
Ask Again, Yes
Vladimir
Infinite Country
The Prophets
Normal People
The Verifiers
Salvage the Bones
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy
I Have Some Questions for You
Black Buck
The History of Love
Age of Vice
Paper Names
The Light Pirate
The Secret History
The Kite Runner
Memorial
The Half Moon
Happiness Falls
The Gifted School
The Death of Vivek Oji
The Knockout Queen
Little Monsters
Yerba Buena
Beautiful World, Where Are You
Free Food for Millionaires
A Burning
The Mothers
The Water Dancer
Small Country
The Sympathizer
Fleishman Is in Trouble
Lot
An American Marriage
The Animators
The Mars Room
Exit West
White Fur
Woman No. 17
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
Eat Only When You're Hungry
Rainbirds
A Ladder to the Sky
Golden Child
The Goldfinch
The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P
& Sons
The Association of Small Bombs
Lolly Willowes
All Grown Up
Marlena
Signal Fires
Someday, Maybe
Woman of Light
Marrying the Ketchups
The Shards
Blue Sisters