The Sympathizer

De: Viet Thanh Nguyen

Narrado por: Francois Chau

*** WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2016***
WINNER OF THE EDGAR AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL 2016
WINNER OF THE CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION 2016

'A fierce novel written in a refreshingly high style and charged with intelligent rage' Financial Times

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. The general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, unaware that one among their number, the captain, is secretly observing and reporting on the group to a higher-up in the Viet Cong. The Sympathizer is the story of this captain: a man brought up by an absent French father and a poor Vietnamese mother, a man who went to university in America, but returned to Vietnam to fight for the Communist cause. A gripping spy novel, an astute exploration of extreme politics, and a moving love story, The Sympathizer explores a life between two worlds and examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today.


'A bold, artful and globally minded reimagining of the Vietnam war . . . The Sympathizer is an excellent literary novel, and one that ends, with unsettling present-day resonance, in a refugee boat where opposing ideas about intentions, actions and their consequences take stark and resilient human form' the Guardian

'Beautifully written and meaty'
Claire Messud

'[A] remarkable debut novel . . . In its final chapters, The Sympathizer becomes an absurdist tour de force that might have been written by a Kafka or Genet'
New York Times

'This debut is a page-turner (read: everybody will finish) that makes you reconsider the Vietnam War ... Nguyen's darkly comic novel offers a point of view about American culture that we've rarely seen'
Oprah.com (Oprah's Book Club Suggestions)

©2015 Viet Thanh Nguyen (P)2024 Hachette Audio UK

Graphic violence you can feel

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would not recommend this book and would not listen to or read it again. That said, the vocabulary and drawn comparisons were both brilliant. It was however overshadowed by too much violence which I did not feel comfortable with.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Learning a side to the Viet Nam war I was unfamiliar with.... least was the heavy dose of descriptive VIOLENCE

Would you listen to another book narrated by Francois Chau?

yes

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

Vietnam and human consciousness.

Viet Thanh Nguyen poetically shows how the US genocide in Vietnam marked a turning point in the human story. Global Consciousness was altered, great novel.

Compelling, complex and never dull!

Though all the characters felt like real people, the first person narrator brought new levels of complexity and intrigue. The writing is witty, poetic and at times viciously satirical—but that never detracts from the tension of the story. In my mind this novel is up there with Vonnegut’s Breakfast Of Champions and Camus’ The Fall.

magnificent

The writing is rich, artful, and playful. Jumping between withering sarcasm to visceral scenes to philosophical pondering with elegance and grace. This is a brilliant work of decolonization literature and so much more.

Very thought provoking.

I like this book because it was a subject I have not learned much about. While it hard to look back at the mistakes of our past in America, I think it’s important. I don’t think we should judge Americans of the time to harshly because we did not live in that time. I believe that if we did we would not have done anything different. This book shows that American should be more aware and questioning of our government, media and who we give our allegiance to. This book seems to raise the question is socialism right or is capitalism? Maybe neither or more like both together. That is why now more than ever we need to talk to each other with respect and try to understand each other. To be of two minds.

Remarkable

Fascinating story. Sad, horrible, funny, disturbing, . . . so many different feelings are triggered at different times. What man has done to man, in the name of ideology, power, religion, or any other excuse.

Original story.

An excellent original story. A character study. Also, a well written historical fiction novel. This is a quality read.

a wonderful ride

write has an intimate grasp of the time period and the emotions that wnt with the time.

Relentless but beautiful writing

I think whoever called in the Vietnamese Portnoy’s Complaint had it right. Complex and incredible writing but pretty exhausting for me in the long run with a lot of philosophizing, politics and personal angst along with the back and forth on whose side our hero was really on if anyone’s, which I guess is probably the point! The politics are deep and sad. A time in history which of course our war in Vietnam screwed up even more. Our hero is of mixed race who is hated and not accepted by most, anywhere he lives. But since he’s a spy does that matter, I’m still not sure. It does help explain his ambiguity though. Also told from a very male point of view which did also wear me out by the end, his relationships or desire for certain women just ultimately all about him. And for him to have to finally mention the size of his penis...oh brother. But no spoiler alerts here you’ll have to listen to the book to find out.

Poetic, intense and wonderfully narrated

I loved the narration. The writing was profound and beautiful, bringing clear pictures to mind and transforming the way I think about the related themes. Highly recommend this book!!