The Sympathizer
Viet Thanh Nguyen

There are novels that when you’re reading them you can tell that the autor agonized over every word, thought deeply about every plot point, knew intimately every character. You can tell that the book is more than a work of fiction, its an attempt to tell something true and real about a time, a place, or a person.

The Sympathizer is such a book. The story of Vietnamese refugee, told in flashback form, from his time in Vietnam working for the government (but secretly spying for the North Vietnamese) through his time in the refugee communities of Southern California, and then back to Vietnam. Nguyen knows the Vietnamese community of Southern California intimately, that’s clear, and he’s researched the hell out of the Vietnamese war its aftermath, all of which has produced a book of exquisite writing and deeply sympathetic characters. I’ll note that, like many great books, the ending felt a little off, but still a wonderful book.

Recommended.

*See what I did there?