Author: Viet Thanh Nguyen
Publisher: Grove Press
Publication Year: 2016
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, The Sympathizer is a Vietnam War novel unlike any other. The narrator, one of the most arresting of recent fiction, is a man of two minds and divided loyalties, a half-French half-Vietnamese communist sleeper agent living in America after the end of the war.
It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his trusted captain, drawing up a list of those who will be given passage aboard the last flights out of the country. But, unbeknownst to the general, this captain is an undercover operative for the communists, who instruct him to add his own name to the list and accompany the general to America. As the general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, the captain continues to observe the group, sending coded letters to an old friend who is now a higher-up within the communist administration. Under suspicion, the captain is forced to contemplate terrible acts in order to remain undetected. And when he falls in love, he finds that his lofty ideals clash violently with his loyalties to the people close to him, a contradiction that may prove unresolvable.
A gripping spy novel, a moving story of love and friendship, and a layered portrayal of a young man drawn into extreme politics, The Sympathizer examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today.
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The Sympathizer opens with the fall of Saigon in 1975. We follow a general and
his captain as they’re trying to fly out of Vietnam to America. Little did he
know, his trustee captain is a double agent who observed and reported what
happened to the Vietnam communist. After they managed to flee the country, we
then follow them as they settling in as refugees in America. All the while
rebuilding forces to take back Vietnam from the communist. The captain is
actually the one who narrates the story. We know early on that he’s a double
agent and while living in America, he’s been sending coded messages to his
‘aunt’ in France. It’s actually his observation on the general which sent to
the communist in Vietnam. To summarize it simply, this book chronicles the
captain’s story as he’s struggling with his multiple identities.
In my
opinion, this book has one of the most memorable first sentence in books. It
opens with “I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces”. That sentence
sets the tone of the book. It tells us what kind of dilemma that the
characters will face in the book. It’s also one of the themes discussed in the
book. The narrator is always referred to as the captain. As a reader, I don’t
know his name. It could be intentional as a way to further dilute his
identities in the story. The captain is actually half French and half
Vietnamese. One time he said it himself that he’s too Asian to be a French but
too Westernized to be a Vietnamese. He never really feel like he’s belong
anywhere. Because of this, it seems to me that the captain often feels like he
has no identity. This is shown in his dialogue with the Department Chair in
the college where he works in the US. The Department Chair suggested the
Captain to see this as a strength. However, the captain feels difficulty to
accept this because this dualism also apparent in his life as a spy. As a
closeted communist, he has to act in front of the General and other refugees.
He’s been forced to hide himself until he’s not sure who he is anymore. This
is the conflict that’s often surfaced in the book.
Another interesting
thing to point out from this book is how it revolves around the Vietnam war.
We’ve seen Vietnam War featured many times in films and books but most of them
are told from the perspective of Americans. This one is told from the
perspective of an actual Vietnamese. This book also not afraid to critique the
way America portray other cultures. In one subplot, the captain is asked as a
consultant in a Hollywood film about the Vietnam war. For a film set in
Vietnam, about Vietnam war, ironically, the Vietnamese characters do not have
intelligible speaking parts.
To tell you the truth, I don't know what is
it with this book but it's always been difficult for me to pick it up. Even
just to start it out. Although when I was reading it, I actually enjoyed it.
It's not like this book has a thousand pages or written in difficult Old
English language. In fact, I like the writing and often found the sentences
lyrical and funny. One of the example of the sentences that I like is this:
“While he was an expert by necessity, I was a novice by choice, despite having
had my opportunities”. Weirdly enough, the same goes to writing the review.
It’s not like I don’t have anything to say about this book, because I do. The
Sympathizer is thought-provoking and it gives me some insight on one of
important historic moments. Maybe because it’s about war that’s somewhat
recent? Even until know I still can’t figure out what makes me reluctant to
pick it up. However, don’t make this put you off from reading this book if
you’re actually interested to pick it up. The ending is left open. So if
you’re not into that, you might want to reconsider. I know later on that
Nguyen published the sequel of this book in March 2021, called The Committed,
but seeing my track record with this book I don’t think I’ll pick up the
sequel. I’m okay with the ending as it is. Again, if you’re interested in the
premise of this book, despite what I said earlier, I think you should read
this book.
Even so, I said, do you not think it would be a little more believable, a little more realistic, a little more authentic, for a movie set in a certain country for the people in that country to have something to say, instead of having your screenplay direct, as it does now, ‘Cut to villagers speaking in their own language’?
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