The Sympathizer

Author: Viet Thanh Nguyen

Stock information

General Fields

  • : $22.99 AUD
  • : 9781472151360
  • : Little, Brown Book Group Limited
  • : Corsair
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  • : 0.402
  • : June 2016
  • : 198mm X 126mm
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  • : 22.99
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  • : books

Special Fields

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  • : Viet Thanh Nguyen
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  • : Paperback
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  • : 384
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Barcode 9781472151360
9781472151360

Description

A National BestsellerA New York Times Book Review Editor's ChoiceAn Amazon Best Book of the Year So Far (#5)One of Newsday's "10 Books Not to Miss in April"A Publishers Weekly Debut Fiction PickA Library Journal Best Debut of SpringOne of Kirkus Reviews' "10 Novels to Lose Yourself In" and a Must-Read Pick for SpringA Flavorwire Must-Read Book for ApirlShortlisted for the 2015 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize


It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a South Vietnamese general is drinking whiskey and, with the help of his captain, drawing up a list of those who will be on the last flights out of the country. The general and his compatriots start a new life in Los Angeles, unaware that the captain is observing and reporting on the group to the Viet Cong. Exploring a life between two worlds, The Sympathizer examines the legacy of the Vietnam War.

Reviews

[A] remarkable debut novel ... His book fills a void in the literature, giving voice to the previously voiceless ... An absurdist tour de force that might have been written by a Kafka or Genet ---New York Times Book Review Extraordinary ... Surely a new classic of war fiction ... [Nguyen] has written a cerebral thriller around a desperate expat story that confronts the existential dilemmas of our age ... I haven't read anything since Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four that illustrates so palpably how a patient tyrant, unmoored from all human constraint, can reduce a man's mind to liquid --Washington Post This debut is a page-turner (read: everybody will finish) that makes you reconsider the Vietnam War ... Nguyen's darkly comic novel offers a point of view about American culture that we've rarely seen --Oprah.com (Oprah's Book Club Suggestions) The satire is delicious --New Yorker The Sympathizer reads as part literary historical fiction, part espionage thriller and part satire. Nguyen knows of what he writes --Los Angeles Times An important new perspective on the Vietnam War ... The Sympathizer will both startle and grip you --BuzzFeed An early frontrunner for debut novel of the year --Flavorwire (10 Must-Read Books for April) I cannot remember the last time I read a novel whose protagonist I liked so much. Smart, funny, and self-critical, with a keen sense of when to let a story speak for itself ... [Nguyen] proves a gifted and bold satirist --Barnes & Noble Review Arresting ... One of the best pieces of fiction about the Vietnam war-and by a Vietnamese... Stunning ... Could it be that Nguyen has captured the shape of the devolution of war itself, from grand ambition to human ruin? ... One of the finest novels of the Vietnam War published in recent years --Daily Beast Read this novel with care; it is easy to read, wry, ironic, wise, and captivating, but it could change not only your outlook on the Vietnam War, but your outlook on what you believe about politics and ideology in general. It does what the best of literature does, expands your consciousness beyond the limitations of your body and individual circumstances --Karl Marlantes, author of Matterhorn and What It Is Like to Go to War Magisterial. A disturbing, fascinating and darkly comic take on the fall of Saigon and its aftermath, and a powerful examination of guilt and betrayal. The Sympathizer is destined to become a classic and redefine the way we think about the Vietnam War and what it means to win and to lose T.C. Boyle, author of The Tortilla Curtain [A] dark and exciting debut novel ... Black humour seeps through these pages Wall Street Journal Not only does Viet Thanh Nguyen bring a rare and authentic voice to the body of American literature generated by the Vietnam War, he has created a book that transcends history and politics and nationality and speaks to the enduring theme of literature: the universal quest for self, for identity. The Sympathizer is a stellar debut by a writer of depth and skill Robert --Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain Beautifully written and meaty --Claire Messud

Author description

Viet Thanh Nguyen was born in Vietnam and raised in America. His stories have appeared in Best New American Voices, TriQuarterly, Narrative, and the Chicago Tribune and he is the author of the academic book Race and Resistance. He teaches English and American Studies at the University of Southern California and lives in Los Angeles.