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Reflections on a Year of Reading Vietnamese Literature

Titles Read: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

When deciding on which country I should learn more about for my independent reading, it was easy to pick Vietnam, the country where my family originated from. Growing up my mother and family never really told me anything about where we came from. They have told me about how hot the weather is, how crowded the streets are, and how I would not enjoy it if we traveled back home. However that is not the case at all, I am really interested in learning and going to Vietnam. I want to learn about what Vietnam is like in modern day. The vacation and tourist spots attract my eye in videos I have seen on Youtube. I also want to see where my mom grew up. I don’t blame them for not talking about Vietnam. They escaped war to come to America and after learning about what went on in these books, it must have been such a traumatizing experience. I chose to read the following book, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. The Sympathizer is a war driven novel, it consisted of selfish, backstabbing acts and people desperately trying to escape Vietnam during the war. Many Vietnamese books discuss the war. 

In The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, the narrator is a captain of the South Vietnamese Army but also a spy for the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. During the story he would be trying to escape Vietnam and acting like he does not know what North Vietnam’s next move was but in reality he knew everything. He betrayed South Vietnam’s trust in him as a captain. It infuriates me how he was able to be double-sided and had so much power. The amount of lives he could have saved if he told the truth. I remember this scene where he was boarding this aircraft along with civilians and he knew North Vietnam was going to be a bomb dropping soon so they had to take off immediately. As they were getting ready to board the plane the bomb dropped and the narrator discussed how he saw his own life flash before his eyes. However, he survived through it and instead a pregnant woman who was supposed to be on the plane died in the arms of her significant other. 

After reading The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, I became curious about how the country blossomed after the war. How they were able to rebuild their entire country after. The North Vietnamese or communists won the war. I’m curious about mainly the South and how they handled the aftermath being controlled by communists. After reading this book, I learned to never trust any no matter the situations. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for my mom  to escape Vietnam at twelve years old without my grandma or grandpa. She’s a very strong woman and I have known that all my life. Now to what extent, I had no idea. 

Word Count : 511

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I wouldn't put anything past the Americans. They weren't afraid of taking out our president, were they?

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (185)

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A great work of art is something as real as reality itself, and sometimes even more real than the real.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (178) 

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As always, money solved the problem.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (162)

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It was so unique the Western media had given it a new name, the boat people, an epithet one might think referred to a newly discovered tribe of the Amazon River or a mysterious, extinguished prehistoric population whose only surviving trace was their watercraft.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (151)

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The red envelope is a symbol, he said, of all that's wrong. It's the color of blood, and they singled you out for your blood.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (141)

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Have some pho, Madame said. It will make you feel better.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (134)

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I might have been half an Asian, but in America it was all or nothing when it came to race. You were either white or you weren't.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (127)

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In reality, Lan was a tomboy who had to be straitjacketed into her ao dai every morning by Madame or a nanny.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (115)

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No matter whether my eyes were open or shut, I could still see it, the crapulent major's third eye, weeping because of what it could see about me.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (110)

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Week #3 Blog

The Sympathizer

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Pages read: 60 - 100

Word count : 308

Summary

The plane has landed on American soil in Guam. At this point, they are not fully in America. While in Guam, the women become infuriated at the General because they had to leave their fathers, brothers, and husbands behind where it is unsafe and he just gets to be here without a scratch. The women become angrier and give him the scratch. They ripped off the stars on his collar. Later on, they arrive in San Diego, California and the narrator gets a job at Occidental College. At his new job, he meets a special someone who is the secretary at Occidental College. Her name is Sofia and he may be falling in love with her. 

Critical Analysis

The women see the General as a coward for being there in safety and leaving all of their loved ones in danger. He should be alongside the other men and fighting for their country. His power as the General has given him too much strength and advantages. The women ripping off the stars on his collar signify that they don’t see him as a great leader. They think of him as a traitor for having only their loved ones risk their lives. The General feels guilty, he’s not looked up to or supported by anyone. He has become a disappointment.

Personal Response

I don’t feel bad for the General. Those women have every right to be mad and tear him apart. Make him feel extra guilty. They have potentially lost their fathers, brothers, or husbands, so that the General could be safe. He’s a coward in my eyes for not being a part of the men that are currently fighting for their country. Instead, the General ran so he could be safe. He is not a hero. I think the General deserves the scratches that the women gave him. 

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So I can either kill myself or kill someone else. Get it?

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (98)

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You had to get close enough to give a marine a thousand dollars before he'd haul you up.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (82)

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He's not a cracker, but he's close. He's a rice cracker.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (74)

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Somewhat hungover and somewhat sentimental, this month being the first anniversary of Saigon's fall, or liberation, or both, I wrote my aunt a letter to commemorate a year's worth of tribulation.

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer, (68)

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Week #2 Blog

The Sympathizer

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Pages read: 40-60

Word count: 311

Summary

The escapees have now gathered to wait to get on the planes. In the morning of their departure, getting ready to say their goodbyes to Vietnam, an explosion went off in the far distance. Another explosion erupts and now everyone is screaming in panic fearing for their lives. The narrator believes it’s the North Vietnamese making their attack. However, Bon thinks that it could be the South Vietnamese who don’t get to escape with them. The panicked escapees run to board the plane. As the narrator was boarding the plane, he couldn’t see his friends, Bon, Linh, and Duc behind him. Linh and Duc died. Bon is devastated at his losses and cannot separate from the now deceased Linh and Duc, in his arms. The narrator had to pull at him to make him get on the plane. 

Critical Analysis

Bon has just lost his family. There is no way he can escape depression even if they make it to America. His entire life has just been lost. He now only has the narrator to live for. It may be difficult for him to live on because he may feel like he has no purpose to live. He’s not a soldier anymore as well, therefore he doesn’t have a job to keep him occupied. Feeling no purpose in life may eventually lead Bon to commit suicide. 

Personal Response

I feel for Bon. I may not be him but I can feel his pain when the narrator had to pull him into the soon departing airplane. He was in his shock and grieving state of mind as he held his dead wife and son in his arms. Bon may start to believe that he doesn’t have a purpose in life anymore and become severely depressed or even commit suicide. I fear and worry for Bon and what he may do now going on with his life.

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Where's my son? Where's my father? Where's my brother?

Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer (53)