#1 in Spy & espionage
The Sympathizer
- 397
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
- Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature
- Center for Fiction First Novel Prize
- Dayton Literary Peace Prize
- Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel
- Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
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About the book
The Sympathizer is the 2015 debut novel by Vietnamese-American professor and writer Viet Thanh Nguyen. It depicts the anonymous narrator, a North Vietnamese mole in the South Vietnamese army, who stays embedded in a South Vietnamese community in exile in the United States after the end of the Vietnam War. While in the United States, the narrator describes being an expatriate and a cultural advisor on the production of an American film, closely resembling Platoon and Apocalypse Now, before returning to Vietnam as part of a guerrilla raid against the communists.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.2 across 370 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 67% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Spy & espionage average of 7.9. That is how 8.2 comes out. A further +0.10 comes from the small bonus for major awards.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.2 | 21 | 6% |
| Hardcover | 8.2 | 349 | 94% |
Frequently asked
What is The Sympathizer rated?
8.2 out of 10, from 370 reader ratings across 2 independent sources.
Is The Sympathizer worth reading?
Readers give it 8.2/10 from 370 ratings, which puts it ahead of 100 % of the Spy & espionage shelf.
How long does it take to read The Sympathizer?
About 7 hours at an average reading pace — 397 pages.
Where does The Sympathizer rank?
#1 in Spy & espionage on the current snapshot.
How long is The Sympathizer?
It has 397 pages — shorter than 54% of the ranked books in Spy & espionage.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Spy & espionage — with scores between 8.1 and 8.2, closest to this book.
