The Sympathizer: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Apr 2015 · The Sympathizer Book 1 · Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

4.5

69 reviews

Ebook

384

Pages

Eligible

About this ebook

Now an HBO Limited Series from Executive Producers Park Chan-wook and Robert Downey Jr., Streaming Exclusively on Max

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Winner of the 2016 Edgar Award for Best First Novel
Winner of the 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction

One of TIME’s 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time

“[A] remarkable debut novel.” —Philip Caputo, New York Times Book Review (cover review)

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize, a startling debut novel from a powerful new voice featuring one of the most remarkable narrators of recent fiction: a conflicted subversive and idealist working as a double agent in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

The winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as seven other awards, The Sympathizer is the breakthrough novel of the year. With the pace and suspense of a thriller and prose that has been compared to Graham Greene and Saul Bellow, The Sympathizer is a sweeping epic of love and betrayal. The narrator, a communist double agent, is a “man of two minds,” a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon, and while building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam.

The Sympathizer is a blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping espionage novel, and a powerful story of love and friendship.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

69 reviews

Steve Wood

May 5, 2022

I had to read this book for my undergraduate studies. It was a page turner and I experienced a lot of personal growth as the story developed. I would always recommend this book for anyone interested in learning about the unique experiences of the Vietnamese people.

Andrew Liu

December 20, 2019

Such a groundbreaking book about the Vietnam War told from the perspective of a Vietnamese-American protagonist. It's satirical, cynical and heart breaking, sometimes all at once. It's such a beautiful book about the tragedy and comedy of the Vietnam War. As a Vietnamese American myself, my favorite parts were his descriptions of life in Vietnam during the fall of Saigon and his attempt to assimilate in American society as a refugee. Great book, 9.99/10

9 people found this review helpful

Mustafa Mazher

July 21, 2016

Really great social commentary on American culture especially towards refugees. A bit heavy in the metaphors though.

43 people found this review helpful

About the author

Viet Thanh Nguyen was born in Vietnam and raised in America. He is the author of The Committed, which continues the story of The Sympathizer, awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, alongside seven other prizes. He is also the author of the short story collection The Refugees; the nonfiction book Nothing Ever Dies, a finalist for the National Book Award; and is the editor of an anthology of refugee writing, The Displaced. He is the Aerol Arnold Professor of English and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California and a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim and MacArthur foundations. He lives in Los Angeles.

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