From the Bookshelf of What's the Name of That Book???…

The Sympathizer (The Sympathizer, #1)

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Why we're reading this: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...…more
[close] https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Sep 15, 2025 Erin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: book-club

3.5 stars

I thought I would like this more than I did. I have to say that I’m a bit surprised it won the Pulitzer. It was well-written, but I just didn’t warm up to it.

34 likes · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2021 Misha rated it really liked it

Shelves: doorway-people, doorway-prose, doorway-plot, politics, asian-american, doorway-place, war, male-protagonist, immigrantthemes, racism

"No, because happiness, American style, is a zero-sum game, sir. ...For someone to be happy, he must measure his happiness against someone else's unhappiness, a process which most certainly works in reverse. If I said I was happy, someone else must be unhappy, most likely one of you. But if I said I was unhappy, that might make some of you happier, but it would also make you uneasy, as no one is supposed to be unhappy in America. I believe our clever young man has intuited that while only the pu ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jul 11, 2019 Cecille rated it it was ok

Vietnam's experience in its war with America, as told by the unnamed protagonist of "The Sympathizer", reminded me of the Philippines' experience with Spain and America. However, even though learning about the Vietnam/American War and the refugee experience was interesting, it was a struggle to finish because the story was long-winded and could have benefited from more editing. It was also difficult to empathize with a character who does not like himself.

The only good thing about this book was i ...more

Like · see review

Feb 05, 2021 Heather rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2021-fiction, 2021-m

A very compelling story of the Vietnam war from the perspective of a communist mole who was educated in America and supports the south while undermining it.

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 13, 2016 Karen rated it liked it

I found this surprisingly boring. It didn't have much plot and felt sort of episodic, although there were maybe four or five lengthy "episodes" - evacuation of Saigon, the business with the major, working on a movie set, etc. Besides feeling bad about killing people, the captain doesn't have that many thoughts to share about his role as a secret agent. I expected it to have more agonizing or questioning. ...more

Like · see review

Jul 05, 2016 Leslie rated it really liked it

I was glad to immerse myself in the era of the end of "the war in Vietnam." The narrator's perspective was unique and illuminating. The writing tended to be repetitive, describing the demoralized Vietnamese refugees in America, the inner turmoil of the narrator's identity as the offspring of a Vietnamese woman and a European man, and several other narrative points. This, 4 stars instead of 5, even though it IS a Pulitzer Prize winner! ...more

Like · see review

Dec 03, 2015 Chrissie rated it really liked it

The last part of this book is what made it for me. I started to lose interest in the middle, but it grabbed me again at the end.

I also loved the short excerpts of the author's non-fiction writing that were included at the end. ...more

Like · see review