GS answers “Can someone explain the duel meaning of...”

Julie Choi asked this question about The Sympathizer (The Sympathizer, #1):

Can someone explain the duel meaning of "nothing" to me. I think I get it but am not sure. Of course, I get the first and obvious meaning - what is more important than independence and freedom? Nothing as in nothing is more important. But what is the other meaning?

GS I have a slightly different point of view from the answers here: I don’t think the author is espousing nihilism or individualism.
I interpreted the “n…moreI have a slightly different point of view from the answers here: I don’t think the author is espousing nihilism or individualism.
I interpreted the “nothing” as “It is better to have nothing than a false promise of freedom and independence” - it extracts a big price (death, destruction, pain, division) but provides no return since ultimately one suppressor just got replaced by another.
The author is replacing his strong belief system - that the revolution will save the people and that he was on the “right side of history” - with a realization that his efforts and sacrifices have ultimately amounted to nothing at all. It is his own life that is the joke.(less)

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