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THE SYMPATHIZER, published in 2015, is a historical fiction novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
THE SYMPATHIZER won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
You really think one of our own men could be a spy? By now the only part of me not sweating were my eyeballs. What about military intelligence? Or the general staff?
Table of Contents
THE SYMPATHIZER Synopsis
The narrator, a communist double agent, is a “man of two minds,” a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon, and while building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam.
THE SYMPATHIZER Analysis of:
The Sympathizer is used as an example in the following posts. Check them out!
| Comparison of Point of View | A comparison of point of view in literature (first, third limited, and omniscient) including modern fiction examples. Which is right for your novel? |
| First Person Point of View | Me, myself, and I are examples of first person point of view. Check out five times you should use first POV for your novel. |
| the Hook | The hook is the opening of your story. Learn the four elements of a hook. |
| Show & Tell | “Show don’t tell” is bad advice. Learn why you need to show AND tell in your story (plus tips to help you improve your showing). |
THE SYMPTHIZER Reviews
The Sympathizer is spy book that’s not a spy book. It’s an engaging read that hooks you right from the start. I’d highly recommend The Sympathizer to anyone. But what do others think?
The Vietnamese are living, breathing people in this novel in the way they rarely are in books written by outsiders.
– Alastair Savage
The sympathizer is, in many ways, a bitter novel, because it sees clearly into the human heart, and its messy, divided nature, its “moth-eaten moral covers” – but the bitterness is offset by a sense of resilience and a belief that it need not be like this.
– Whispering Gums
Yet what Nguyen does best in the novel is expose hypocrisy.
– Mystery People
Writing Practice
It’s time to try some writing exercises and prompts using THE SYMPATHIZER as inspiration.
Prompt: The Opening Paragraph(s)
Your Task: This is the opening paragraph of the novel. Ignore everything you know about the story and use it as a writing prompt.
Using as much detail as possible, write another 300+ words.
Chapter 1
I AM A SPY, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces. Perhaps not surprisingly, I am also a man of two minds. I am not some misunderstood mutant from a comic book or a horror movie, although some have treated me as such. I am simply able to see any issue from both sides. Sometimes I flatter myself that this is a talent, and although it is admittedly one of a minor nature, it is perhaps also the sole talent I possess. At other times, when I reflect on how I cannot help but observe the world in such a fashion, 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, I must confess. But in the month when this confession begins, my way of seeing the world still seemed more of a virtue than a danger, which is how some dangers first appear.
Exercise: Mix & Match
This exercise is all about being creative. We’re going to merge the idea of THE SYMPATHIZER with a character from LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD.
Your Task: Write a scene where one of the characters of LITTLE RED is a spy.
Need an Idea?
- Keep it simple and make Red a spy for her mother.
- Make it more complicated. The Wolf is a spy for ______.
Exercise: The Inciting Incident
The inciting incident is the event that starts driving the plot upwards.
Your Task: Analyze the Inciting Incident:
- What is the inciting incident in The Sympathizer?
- Find & briefly describe what happens.
- Explain how the 4 elements of the Inciting Incident work (or don’t) in THE SYMPATHIZER:
- It has urgency
- It raises questions
- It provides deep character information
- It’s life-changing
Prompt & Exercise Notebooks
Notebooks are a great place to write your prompts & exercises. I carry one with me all the time so I can write down my random thoughts, or do a quick prompt while I’m waiting. Check out these fun notebooks!
THE SYMPATHIZER Facts
THE SYMPATHIZER Thoughts?
Have you read THE SYMPATHIZER?
If so, what did you think? If not, will you?
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PS. share your exercises in the comments below. I’d love to see them.
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