The author of this book is a American novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen who is currently a professor at University of Southern California. He was born in Vietnam and raised here in the United States. The Sympathizer was published by Grove Press on April 2,2015. Viet Thanh Nguyen has had a very successful career when it comes to his writing. He has won multiple awards such as the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the Edgar Award for Best First Novel from the Mystery Writers of America.  Viet Thanh Nguyen’s website, https://vietnguyen.info/author-viet-thanh-nguyen allows everyone to learn more about who he is as a writer and as a person. From reading his website I have learned more things about him such as where he was born, where he went to school, and that he just released a book this past March called The Committed which is the sequel to The Sympathizer.

One of the consistent points throughout the book was the idea of having two minds. The narrator shows the positive and the negative outcomes that come from having two different minds. The negative points that the narrator discusses about two minds in the novel is that it weakens people. The positive outcomes of having two minds is that one can be educated but still open minded towards different perspectives. I would consider this the main point throughout the novel because we get to see how the narrator is conflicted with his both minds and how it affects his performance as a spy.

I chose this quote because I really like how it shows how important Asian representation is to the narrator. It also shows how Hollywood likes to change things for their own entertainment but they do not consider how it affects the lives of the Asian community.

I chose Bon as my favorite character because he is loyal to his work and family. After his father was killed Bon realizes what his main focuses in life are. He stays loyal to his father by being and anti- communist. What I mostly loved about Bon was the fact that he stayed committed to his main focuses throughout the book. Despite the death of his wife and child changing who he was, we know that he did certain things for the sole purpose of work, not because he wanted to. Deep down I know that Bon is a good person and he puts people before himself. His main goals in life shows the kind of person he is, which is someone who gets things done, not for himself but for those depending on him. 

While reading The Sympathizer by Viet Nguyen many points were made in comparison to the United States. Before reading the book, I thought of the United States as a country that always likes to involve themselves into war just for the fun of it. As I progressed through the book I noticed that the relationship between Asian and the United States was on and off and that the United States is only interested in things that benefit them. 

I thought that this quote was really important because it talks about one of the constant themes of the book. The idea of having two different minds is brought up several times. The narrator uses his two minds in the majority of his situations such as being in the army but also being a communist spy. This quote shows that having two minds is a skill the narrator relies on for his day to day life.

This quote was very interesting to me because it shows a drastic change in the narrator in the beginning and end of the book. Before he was motivated and aware of everything, whereas in the end of the book he settles and is very single- minded. As he closes the book he speaks with tired language, almost as he is drained. Through the narrators language, the readers are able to see how the war, solitary confinement, and other events in his life effected him.