The Sympathizer

A Novel

By: Viet Thanh Nguyen

Narrated by: Francois Chau

Now an HBO® Original Limited Series on Max, and winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, a startling debut novel featuring one of the most remarkable narrators of recent years: a conflicted subversive and idealist working as a double agent in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

The winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, as well as seven other awards, and now an HBO® Original Limited Series on Max, The Sympathizer has sold over one million copies worldwide and is one of the most acclaimed books of the 21st century. With the pace and suspense of a thriller and prose that has been compared to Graham Greene and Vladimir Nabokov, 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 comes 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 spy novel, and a powerful story of love and friendship.

The narrator’s voice

The depth of the main character — world weary, jaded, sad, like he knew his fate.
And the reader’s performance delivered that so well.

Raw and Real

I enjoyed this for the questioning voice of the unnamed protagonist. The stories he told about Vietnam riveted me. I heard the author at a book fair, and bought this book that amazing and shocked me. I highly recommend it.

Riveting and insightful

The turn of phrase was so impactful that many passages have been committed to memory.

Recommended With No Reservations

Brilliant! Unapologetically fierce! I will be rereading. I cannot praise this amazing piece of writing enough.

Fascinating perspective and compelling story

Not much the length and details were very good the narrator was excellent and I just wanted to keep reading!