The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen REVIEW

[@erinh7450]

I loved The Sympathizer so, so much. I've seen reviews by others that have been much more lukewarm, but it absolutely blew me away. I loved the language; I'm not always a reader that pays attention to sentence-level writing, but this one I felt like I was savoring even the sentences. And I loved the complexity of the main character and his inner conflict playing both sides. And the humor. (I don't tend to books that are written as ha-ha humor, but when it's slipped in like this, a bit dark/wry, then I can really appreciate it). A tour de force. Wonderful review. ETA: He's putting out a memoir this year; I am *so* looking forward to it!

[@sergioraposo9531]

I totally agree. A great book, with some laugh out loud moments. Really worth reading.

[@blingcicero6570]

Great review

[@richardb7093]

Just watched the HBO movie of the book. Excellent! The book is now in my Kindle!

[@ryoknits]

When you said the novel is a love letter to Invisible Man, do you know for a fact that the author meant it that way? I was thinking of Invisible Man while I was reading it so I believe it, but I wondered if the author had said that. It was by far the best thing I read in 2023, and it’ll stick with me. I got the sequel, too. I love your reviews - have you read anything by Silvia Morena Garcia? She is my new favorite, every single book is completely different but they’re all amazing entertainment.

[@TheBookchemist]

Thank you for the comment! I have not read any statement from the author about his debt to Invisible Man, but the parallels seem very clear to me, and the incipit of Sympathizer definitely echoes Ellison's novel. as for Moreno-Garcia, I have only read Mexican Gothic, but I liked it a lot! I look forward to reading more of her works - what would be another good one :)?

[@ryoknits]

@@TheBookchemist I have found that you can’t go wrong! I think Velvet Was the Night is my favorite of hers. I’ve also read The Daughter of Dr Moreau and now I’m reading The Beautiful Ones. They all tend to start slow and then before I know it, I can’t put the book down.

[@AntsNguy]

Nguyen did a Reddit AMA some time ago and The Invisible Man was the first book he mentioned in his all time favorite books :)

[@sjin8896]

Is it about a guy who hugs people to death?

[@naiyang888]

🦗

[@sammartin2860]

is it in Vietnamese or English?

[@AntinomyAnonymous]

$old