Welcome to Litsy!

A work of historical fiction written from the perspective of a communist spy working with the South at the time of the fall of Saigon. Traverses Vietnam, America and Philippines. The protagonist‘s confession and enlightenment under torture thereafter form the crux of the novel. The writing is superb but the story isn‘t as engaging as one would have liked.

Overall a good read. I bought this upon returning from a trip to Vietnam - visiting places gets me thirsty for content and it gave vividness to the story. I enjoyed the dialogue style, the subject and journey interesting. The characters felt like caricatures, the situations gradually more absurd - unsure if that detracted but it made an interesting way to explore subjects. The pointlessness & lack of a clear ‘right‘ in war my main impression

This was a difficult novel to read. It became more violent over time, but it is a novel about war. It was an interesting approach to the Vietnam War because all characters were flawed. It was impossible to determine who was right and who was wrong wich made the book more interesting. The story is told from the perspective of a Vietnamese refugee.#AAPI#vietnamwar#traumaticexperience#immigrantexperience

It was very important to me that there be no apologies, no translations, no explanations in this novel because these are signs of writing towards dominant culture. (author about his novel in an interview)

“Collectively we will be called the boat people, a name we heard once more earlier this night, when we surreptitiously listened to the Voice of America on the navigator‘s radio. Now that we are to be counted among these boat people, their name disturbs us. It smacks of anthropological condescension, evoking some forgotten branch of the human family, some lost tribe of amphibians emerging from ocean mist, crowned with seaweed.

☔️ and ⛈️ all day here on the prairie, what better to do than finishing my novel, taking some notes and starting the next one

Remember, you‘re not half of anything, my mother said, you‘re twice of everything!

A very enlightening read.

The tagged book was my favorite read of August and probably gonna be in the running for my favorite book of the year. #2023ReadingBracket #bookclubread

Update on the HBO production: teaser trailer and Robert Downey playing four roles.

https://deadline.com/2023/04/the-sympathizer-trailer-robert-downey-jr-four-chara...

This will be so good to see!

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/sandra-oh-trio-joins-hbo-the-sympat... - Sandra Oh Among Trio Joining HBO‘s ‘The Sympathizer‘

I never imagined I would enjoy so much a novel focusing on the cruelty and contradictions of war. It is packed with all the ingredients to keep the reader glued until the end. The political and social issues are magnificently singled out by the superb writing and a blend of spy fiction and dark comedy. The narrator's duality (in ethnicity, education and loyalty) are an immense source of both internal and external conflict, strength and weakness.

Very good and completely understand why it won a Pulitzer, but I found it hard to focus on. I think that‘s more about me and having a lot of stuff going on though. Need to stick to some lighter reads for a while.

This is the lovely view from my hotel room in Madrid, where I got to spend last weekend! 🇪🇸

This is an exceptional novel. I detect notes of Ishiguro's Remains of the Day, a flavor reminiscent of Ian McEwan's wry observation and dry, bitter humor, a dash of Shelley's Frankenstein (what of the monster that made the monster?), and about 20 distinct vocabulary words I have never read or heard in my life.

Also, I love its handling of dialogue. Love.

This is an impressive, insightful, dark, and surprisingly funny book.

Finally getting around to this novel. I don‘t normally like stories centered around war but the writing is pulling me in (it‘s so good it‘s forcing me to not speed read!).

While it is better to be loved than hated, it is also far better to be hated than ignored.

Our unnamed narrator begins with the fall of Saigon and the escape of South Vietnamese refugees to America, where he lives and works while working as a spy for the Viet Cong. This is a book in which no single word is wasted, its meaning important and often double, beginning with the title itself. As a result, I'm rating it a pick even though the violence, while fitting, was too much for me at times. Great book club pick!

Told as a confession of a VC spy embedded with the South Vietnamese army, the story is complex and nearly all of the characters engaged in awful acts as part of war. First book I‘ve read about the Vietnam war from a Vietnamese perspective. Nuanced look at the war, American culture, and loyalty.

I picked it up because I remember it getting a lot of good reviews. Those were warranted. The book is written in the style of a confession from a VC spy who worked for the South Vietnamese military, gets into the US as a refugee to keep a close eye on his general boss, and gets sent back to Vietnam on a supposed mission to fight the victorious North. Things get awry after that. It's a compelling narrative from a Vietnamese perspective.

#midyearfaves Day 9 One of the unexpected byways that my reading life this year has taken are books that deal with the Vietnam War. This subject was addressed in 2 of my fave graphic memoirs of the year: Thi Bui's “The Best We Could Do“ & Derf Backderf's “Kent State.“ Nguyen's novel, featuring an unnamed Communist double agent who immigrated to the states after the fall of Saigon, is not only a fascinating examination of the politics of the time👇

Thank god for no late fees at the library!
This took me forever to get through & I‘m just not sure why.
The subject matter was definitely of interest and the dark humour was up my alley but every time I picked it up I never got far🤷🏻‍♀️
I largely grabbed it because I came across the follow-up (The Committed) & figured I should read the first…since I struggle with this one I was unsure about the 2nd but so far The Committed is going better 4 me

Nguyen's debut novel is narrated by a Communist double agent after the fall of Saigon. The unnamed narrator offers a panoramic view of Vietnamese & immigrant life in America. At one point the narrator becomes involved as a consultant for a big budget war movie & that section, a not inconsiderable portion of the book, reminded me of Yu's Interior Chinatown. Nguyen's depictions of wartime atrocities & international espionage are interwoven with👇

Although it's narrated by a double agent for the Communist Party after the fall of Saigon, I'm genuinely surprised by some of the crossover between this & Yu's "Interior Chinatown".

Made the mistake of starting a new book when I should have gone to sleep. Oh, well. That's what coffee is for. I think I'm going to really like this one...

This book is very dense and layered. The Vietnam war is not usually one of my favorite topics to explore, but I‘d now say this is the quintessential artful depiction of that era and the fallout. Yes, the author tackles the whitewashing of history, but he also presents the conflicting allegiances of the Vietnamese diaspora in a deep and fascinating way. I didn‘t always love the MC or every choice that was made, but this is a must read.

In the first 1/2 of the book, Nguyen gives a master class in superb writing, explanations of being Asian in the US and Paris, and being an unreliable narrator- and was a solid 5 book. The second half of the book spun out of control- still excellent quotes, but the plot become unrealistic and streams of consciousness lost me. On average, this was good with the first 1/2 shining brightly.

What a whirlwind of ideas. A poignant, at times hilarious, satire. If you haven‘t read this, now is the right time. I don‘t usually underline or mark pages in my books, but I couldn‘t stop myself with this one. This is a true masterpiece.

I honestly had a pretty miserable time reading this book, in spite of it having a lot of fascinating history and culture in it. Did anyone read it and disagree? I'd love to hear why!

Me and my reading buddy. Nothing more magical than a kid learning to love reading.

Book #3. Being in a long distance relationship during covid times when neither of us can travel into the other‘s country has sucked. But finding a partner with whom to read and discuss books is priceless. We alternate book picks and this month is my pick.

This is a pick although I think I would have done better reading it in print instead of audio (darn 2 for 1 sale!) I thought this book was illuminating and darkly funny although certain phrases took me out of the story. The beer smelled and tasted like baby piss. Really? HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?? #FoodAndLit #ReadingAsia #Vietnam

I‘ve owned The Sympathizer on audio since it came out 😳 so it was my natural choice for #FoodAndLit this month.

The book is great: clever and funny, extremely well-written, thought provoking and engaging. My mind was little bit blown by the end—this is a Pulitzer winner that deserved the Pulitzer in my very unprofessional opinion. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Rather than cooking, I used this as an excuse to order takeout Pho Chin, which was also great. 😋

It took me a little bit to get used to the writing. But once I did, this novel blew me away. So incredibly smart and layered and funny, I absolutely loved this.

Full review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CKSo9mBATIu/?igshid=1wgmnmpls7hm2

I thought I'd read as many Pulitzer Prize winners as I could...this one was the first I had deep misgivings about.
The narrative style is totally unique and requires you to either pull apart your preconceived notions on war and trauma or get dragged down a really dark hole really quickly.
The narrator depersonalizes all the characters in such a way that you're either forced to align with the protagonist or give up having any empathy at all.

Holy moly! This book is gripping. It requires a careful read. The writing is intricate and the narrator speaks covertly.

A jarring glimpse into an incredibly intellectual mind fractured by uncertainty of self and nation. So good, so frightening, so smartly done.

DNF = did not finish - not for me at this time

“Viet Thanh Nguyen‘s The Sympathizer brilliantly draws you in with the opening line: “I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces.” It‘s thrilling, rhythmic, and astonishing, as is the rest of Nguyen‘s enthralling portrayal of the Vietnam War. The narrator is an undercover communist agent posing as a captain in the Southern Vietnamese Army.”

Wow. Amazing. I was born after the Vietnam war, so what I know about it comes mostly from American popular culture. This seems like a really important book to help the US reckon with itself and what it did in and to Vietnam.

New booook! Right after finishing The Mountains Sing, I'm digging right back in to the Vietnam War.

This book hits the plot tarmac at a furious pace and keeps the twists and turns coming through what feels like a thriller-esque memoir. For fear of spoiling this exceptional read, I won‘t say more than the final twists take this book in a very different and contemplative direction- can division be reconciled?

Yay! #Booked2020 #Spring is officially put to bed!
1. Makes you LOL
2. Memoir about a Parent and child
3. Tartan Noir
4. Book about Genocide
5. Pan Asian Author
6. Animal on Cover

Great prompts, as usual, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading these, so thank you #Booked2020 folks!! 👩🏻‍🎓🐱♥️

#ReadWithMrBook #DebutNovel
#Booked2020 #PanAsianAuthor

This is going to go down as one of my favorite novels of all time, as well it should, considering all of the awards it garnered for its author (including a Pulitzer for fiction). But even with all of the buildup, I am sort of stunned at how much I do like this book. The time is mid-1970s, just at the fall of Saigon, and the unnamed narrator has been captured by someone he refers to as the ⬇️

The writing style of this book was different, and I really appreciate that, but it was HARD! Long paragraphs, little expression, and NO quotation marks since the story is told as a confession in prison. Strangely, the reader never finds out the character‘s name, which I think is kinda cool. He‘s basically telling his story as a spy and sympathizer during and after the Vietnam War. Overall, I liked it and I‘m glad I read it! #24B4Monday

“I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces.” #FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Not knowing what this book was about when I picked it up, I fell into a literary historical fiction novel that explores the multi-faceted nature of identity. The more I think about it, the more I like it. Calling it a spy novel or a thriller seems misleading to me. If you‘re looking for something faster-paced with intrigue, try the Orphan Master‘s Son. #catsoflitsy

I only managed 36 pages ALL WEEK! I‘ve got a few things on my to-do list and once I knock that out, I‘m hoping to dive in. Concentration is not my thing these days.

I walked around all weekend with this book but never opened it. I started the 1st chapter last night. I‘m still on the 1st chapter. I have a feeling this will take me forever and a day to get through. My mind doesn‘t want to turn off.

Vietnam conflict, very political. The writing felt sharp and nearly heartless, mirroring the separation of friends, families, and communities during the Vietnam war.

I'm so close to finishing this book. Really like it but it's taking awhile;)