by Kevin TranWhile growing up, every individual tries to find their place within society. We all go through this no matter whether we admit it or not. In the spring of 2016, I was having a conversation with my professor and we had spoken about my Vietnamese heritage. He recommended a novel written by a Vietnamese professor at the University of South California (USC), Viet Thanh Nguyen, named The Sympathizer. Before I started reading it, I looked into the novel and noticed that it was a recipient of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. This had made me eager to purchase the book and begin reading. I was always amazed at the lack of Vietnamese culture portrayed within American society unless it was about the Vietnam War. Looking up books or movies about Vietnam always gave me pictures and videos about soldiers, war-ridden streets, and despair of the Vietnamese people who were given no choice but to endure what was going on right before their eyes, just as my parents did. This novel opened my eyes to the war and its aftermath from the perspective of a Vietnamese individual instead of those who came in to help fight against communism. However, growing up with Vietnamese parents helped me realize how beautiful the country truly is regardless of it being ruled as a Socialist Republic. This debut novel for Viet Thanh Nguyen follows an undercover communist sleeper-spy during the Vietnam War and its aftermath. The main character, who remains unnamed, is giving a confession on his recollection of events between the Fall of Saigon and his imprisonment in Vietnam many years later. During this time, we notice a conflict in his character as he knows that he must report to the North but he sympathizes with the people of the South. From the opening moments of the book, we are put right into the actions that occurred before before the Fall of Saigon. The beginning of the book helps us fill the gaps within society and gives a voice to the voiceless. It also helps bring a new perspective to those events that transpired 40 years ago. The novel highlights the many themes that are still evident in today’s world. First, the theme of betrayal and how it has harmful effects on the person and those who are involved as well. Being a sleeper spy was no easy feat as the main narrator describes it as talent, and it is either the best or the worst qualities of his personality. Also, the conflicts that occur between both the Western and Eastern cultures/societies come into play as societal integration occurs with Vietnamese finding refuge to escape the war. First and foremost, the protagonist makes us feel like we are one with him in every aspect of his life. From his decision making to his thoughts, it makes us feel as we were right there from the opening lines: “I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces. Perhaps not surprisingly, I am also a man of two minds, . . . able to see any issue from both sides. Sometimes I flatter myself that this is a talent,” he continues, but “I wonder if what I have should even be called talent. After all, a talent is something you use, not something that uses you. The talent you cannot not use, the talent that possesses you — that is a hazard.” The talent that he speaks about is the ability to be able to sympathize. It helps him develop a conflict within himself to do what he believes is right. This talent that he possesses is both his strength and his weakness. Gaining the General’s trust while on the route to betrayal for the Communist party. The protagonist secretly is observing the general and others around him in order to report back to the Viet Cong. This complex binary personality helps us sympathize with the narrator as we go through the various emotions and drama that we encounter through the novel’s 382 pages. After fleeing from South Vietnam, we follow the narrator to Los Angeles, California where he lays low in search of ‘refuge’ from the war. While located in America, he is learning to adjust to the Western culture as many Vietnamese refugees did to escape their war-ravaged homeland. He also experiences the racism that occurred due to the relocation of thousands of Vietnamese people in America. After being located in California, he then works on set of recording in the Philippines before leading the exiled Vietnamese troops back into Vietnam. He becomes imprisoned on this mission and starts to confess everything that transpired leading up to that moment. The ending of the novel speaks perfectly to the events that transpired and the people that Viet Thanh Nguyen wrote them for. “WE WILL LIVE” the protagonist states. Despite the hardship that the Vietnamese people faced, they had endured. This beautifully written novel gives voice to the voiceless. Nguyen states himself that “Although my family and other refugees brought our war stories with us to America, they remain largely unheard and unread, except by people like us.” Americans tried to forget this war that they lost but sometimes they forget that they were not the only ones who lost. The South Vietnamese people lost their land and the country lost its freedom.
I was born and raised in the United States to Vietnamese refugees. I was lucky enough to be able to have many Vietnamese traditions passed along to me. What I am most proud of is my parents and the journey that they endured to get to where they are today. Vietnamese is who I am, it is in my blood. Hopefully one day, the tales of the Vietnamese refugees will make mainstream media and help individuals understand the war better from the viewpoint of those who were directly affected. I want to thank Viet Thanh Nguyen for writing such a beautiful novel and helping me say even louder that I am proud to be Vietnamese.
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