The Sympathizer

A Novel

By: Viet Thanh Nguyen

Narrated by: Francois Chau

Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize, Fiction, 2016

A profound, startling, and beautifully crafted debut novel, The Sympathizer is the story of a man of two minds, someone whose political beliefs clash with his individual loyalties.

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.

©2015 Viet Thanh Nguyen. Recorded by arrangement with Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

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

Well-written book

I appreciate the author's intelligence, which was strikingly evident. While the book was very interesting, I must admit my attention waned somewhat by the second half, perhaps owing to the narration being so predictable.

Beautifully, smartly written and read

The Sympathizer is one of the most beautifully written, sonorously read books in my library. It is filled with the pathos and misery of war's leftover people - in this case, the Vietnamese from both sides of the fight. The Sympathizer is a story of philosophy, of life-sacrificing friendships, of the complexity of human beings, and of complicated decisions, relationships, and sacrifices. It deserves all its awards and accolades.

Cutting, complex and poetic story, delivered wryly

The Sympathizer challenges the reader (and listener) with its breadth of story and circuitous narrative. For the most party, I enjoyed listening to it unfold. It took rather a long time for me to embrace the narration, if truth be told. Extraneous mouth noises, for example, pull me out of it. And the extremely detached and wry delivery of Francois Chau, to my ears, affects more of a real person, at times, than a narrator. It's a tricky balance. Ultimately, Mr Chau's reading does work for me even when his instrument sometimes sounds like it needs a drink of water.

The Sympathizer won the Pulitzer, so who am I to quibble with the book? I definitely enjoyed visiting a time (mid 1970s, Vietnam and beyond) with a complex and intriguing main character. The book casually features some drop-dead gorgeous language. Immense beauty. Occasionally, the content gets pretty rough - but it never feels gratuitous. Way too many pop culture references for its own good, but otherwise, a compelling read - if, at times, confusing. I suggest not to worry about the confusion, and stay with it.

Mr Chau's narration provides a well-matched tone of humor and pathos. While less convincing with some of the additional character voices, the bulk of his work here provides a flexible and sturdy spine to the audiobook.

A Grim Confession

A grim but important story told with self-effacing transparency, liberally salted with figurative expression. A confession from the perspective of a revolutionary who has grown to understand the irony of his cause.

A fascinating historical epic

“The Sympathizer“ is the fascinating story of an individual trying to survive with a little integrity as he threads his way through the messy, conflicting historical, social and Ideological constructs that framed our 20th century realities. It was an epic journey and well told!

Best book of the Millennium

The writing would humble Nabokov, and Conrad could not have woven a better tale about the Double. An absolutely impeccable performance seers it into memory.

Stunning

Set in divided Vietnam and the US, this book feels dystopian, but is all too history-based. Trigger warnings for violence, sexual and otherwise, but the violence shines a spotlight on the idea of violence, just as the entire book shines a spotlight on how sympathy cannot make suffering less.

I loved this book. Literature at its finest.

What did you love best about The Sympathizer?

Wit, pace, metaphors, humor, insight, historical view, philosophical tidbits, perspective, so much so that I became completely immersed in the protagonist's epic journeys.

What did you like best about this story?

The storyline follows a compelling track wrapped in brilliantly-crafted language and detail. I could hardly put down my iPod or wait to pick it up again.

Have you listened to any of Francois Chau’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I found the performance perfectly balanced to the tone and flow of the story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was tugged in my emotions more by the humor and irony than anger or sadness. Like many Americans who did not serve but came of age in that era, Vietnam is the war we tend to jump over to reach back to the glory days of WW2. Although fictional, The Sympathizer is a well-needed perspective to help us come to grips with what it means to be the winner and loser in war, as much as what it means to be a refugee and immigrant in America. I had just read (listened to) All the Light We Cannot See which inspired me to read the Pulitzer Price winner for 2016 and I was not disappointed. Outstanding piece of literature. Bravo.

Thought-provoking

I love books that give a better understanding of history or a culture, and this novel does both with beautiful prose and heart-aching scenes.