The Sympathizer: A Novel (Unabridged)
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4.1 • 108 Ratings
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- $21.99
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In his Pulitzer Prize–winning debut novel, Viet Thanh Nguyen tells a rather unusual story about the Vietnam War—by actually placing a Vietnamese character at its center. Being “of two minds” about his country’s civil war, our unnamed protagonist spent the conflict working for a South Vietnamese general while simultaneously funneling information to his North Vietnamese best friend. But even when Saigon falls, his mission continues, as he’s sent to work as a spy in sunny California. Nguyen’s hard-hitting narrative has zero sympathy for any of the war-mongering factions who fueled this deadly period—not the Communists, not the French colonialists, and especially not the American government. The unnamed protagonist upends decades of Americanized narratives of the war and mocks military self-seriousness—something Francois Chau captures as he portrays the spirited narrator. Nguyen’s writing is so good that he kept us listening even in the audiobook’s bleakest moments.
Customer Reviews
Excellent book, great narration
This is such a sharp, incisive, powerful book that is, at times hilarious, and at other times, heartbreaking. The story is so compelling, the characters are really well drawn, and the multiple settings are always vivid so you feel like you’re there with the characters. Also, the narrator of the audio book is amazing.
Disappointing Performance
“A good book can be ruined by a bad narrator, and a bad book can be made great by a good narrator.” This performance is the former.
Nothing on Francois Chau himself, but I could hardly get through the first hour. The narrator has an excellent voice. However, he puts in no inflection, does not differentiate his voice between characters, and I wasn’t able to sense any emotional shifts or subtleties. It’s really disappointing because the book is interesting, but the performance just sinks it for me.
Riveting!
I couldn’t stop listening to the book. Perfectly written and recorded.