‘The Sympathizer‘ (2015),
by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Tom, Sandra and Andrew discuss the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

This 2015 debut novel by Vietnamese American Viet Thanh Nguyen deals with the psychological aftermath of the Vietnam War. According to The Guardian:
“The Sympathizer can be read as a spy novel, a war novel, an immigrant novel, a novel of ideas, a political novel, a campus novel, a novel about the movies, and a novel about other novels.”

The Review concludes:
“A bold, artful and globally minded re-imagining of the Vietnam War, and its  interwoven private and public legacies.”

We discuss the novel critically, slotting in Music by Jimmy Cliff, Jimi Hendrix and Marvin Gaye.