The Sympathizer

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How do you feel about the novel’s shifting forms of narration, which not only includes first-person singular but also first-person plural voice and screenplay format? How did these forms affect your experience of the novel?

2. Where do you think the narrator’s allegiances truly lie? Do you think he is really a Communist spy, or did he conjure his narrative as part of his “reeducation”?

3. Nguyen has also tackled the Vietnam War and the Vietnamese diaspora in his short story collection, The Refugees (2017). What does he accomplish by exploring this topic in the novel form? If you’ve read his short stories, how would you characterize his approach to the subject in them?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. What do you feel are your duties to your country? How would you feel if your country asked you to turn against your friends for the benefit of the larger community? 

2. Compare the novel’s exploration of the diasporic experience of Vietnamese people to other diasporic experiences you know of.