ŷ������

The June BOTM discussion will be the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2016) winner - The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Though this is a novel and in some ways "historical fiction" because the author is himself a Vietnamese refugee, this is not considered a non fiction book.

by Viet Thanh Nguyen

However, this book is written from the viewpoint of a sympathizer of the Vietnamese position and perspective which will be quite interesting. The majority of books on Vietnam are written from the American point of view. So this will be a departure from that perspective.

We often read books that have a strong historical fiction bent or even classical works of specific countries that are historical novels but this book is a stretch because - it is the perspective and the point of view which is historical and worth reading about. Some reviewers have called it "social satire".

Synopsis:

The winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as five other awards, The Sympathizer is the breakthrough novel of the year. With the pace and suspense of a thriller and prose that has been compared to Graham Greene and Saul Bellow, The Sympathizer is a sweeping epic of love and betrayal. 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 is a blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping espionage novel, and a powerful story of love and friendship

About the Author:



Viet Thanh Nguyen is the author of the novel The Sympathizer (Grove Press, 2015). He also authored Race and Resistance: Literature and Politics in Asian America (Oxford University Press, 2002) and co-edited Transpacific Studies: Framing an Emerging Field (University of Hawaii Press, 2014). An associate professor at the University of Southern California, he teaches in the departments of English and American Studies and Ethnicity.

He has been a fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies (2011-2012), the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard (2008-2009) and the Fine Arts Work Center (2004-2005). He has also received residencies, fellowships, and grants from the Luce Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Asian Cultural Council, the James Irvine Foundation, the Huntington Library, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, the Bread Loaf Writers�� Conference, Creative Capital and the Warhol Foundation.

His short fiction has been published in Manoa, Best New American Voices 2007, A Stranger Among Us: Stories of Cross-Cultural Collision and Connection, Narrative Magazine, TriQuarterly, the Chicago Tribune, and Gulf Coast, where his story won the 2007 Fiction Prize.

His writing has been translated into Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Spanish, and he has given invited lectures in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Germany. He is finishing an academic book titled War, Memory, Identity.

all by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Awards:

Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Winner of the 2016 Edgar Award for Best First Novel

Winner of the 2016 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction

Winner of the 2016 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction

Winner of the 2015 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

Winner of the 2015-2016 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (Adult Fiction)

Winner of the 2016 California Book Award for First Fiction

Winner of the 2017 Association for Asian American Studies Award for Best Book in Creative Writing (Prose)

Finalist for the 2016 PEN/Faulkner Award

Finalist for the 2016 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction

Finalist for the 2016 Medici Book Club Prize

Finalist for the 2015 Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Mystery/Thriller)

Finalist for the 2016 ABA Indies Choice/E.B. White Read-Aloud Award (Book of the Year, Adult Fiction)

Long listed for the 2017 International DUBLIN Literary Award

Named a Best Book of the Year on more than twenty lists, including the New York Times Book Review, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post

Praise:

An Amazon Best Book of April 2015: Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer brilliantly draws you in with the opening line: “I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces.�� It’s thrilling, rhythmic, and astonishing, as is the rest of Nguyen’s enthralling portrayal of the Vietnam War. The narrator is an undercover communist agent posing as a captain in the Southern Vietnamese Army. Set during the fall of Saigon and the years after in America, the captain spies on the general and the men he escaped with, sharing his information with his communist blood brothers in coded letters. But when his allegiance is called into question, he must act in a way that will haunt him forever. Political, historical, romantic and comic, The Sympathizer is a rich and hugely gratifying story that captures the complexity of the war and what it means to be of two minds. --Al Woolworth

“A layered immigrant tale told in the wry, confessional voice of a ‘man of two minds’—and two countries, Vietnam and the United States.�� —Pulitzer Prize Citation

“[A] remarkable debut novel . . . [Nguyen] brings a distinctive perspective to the war and its aftermath. His book fills a void in the literature, giving voice to the previously voiceless . . . The nameless protagonist-narrator, a memorable character despite his anonymity, is an Americanized Vietnamese with a divided heart and mind. Nguyen’s skill in portraying this sort of ambivalent personality compares favorably with masters like Conrad, Greene, and le Carré. . . . Both thriller and social satire. . . . In its final chapters, The Sympathizer becomes an absurdist tour de force that might have been written by a Kafka or Genet.�� —Philip Caputo, New York Times Book Review (cover review)

“This is more than a fresh perspective on a familiar subject. [The Sympathizer] is intelligent, relentlessly paced and savagely funny . . . The voice of the double-agent narrator, caustic yet disarmingly honest, etches itself on the memory.�� —Wall Street Journal (WSJ’s Best Books of 2015)

“Extraordinary . . . Surely a new classic of war fiction. . . . [Nguyen] has wrapped a cerebral thriller around a desperate expat story that confronts the existential dilemmas of our age. . . . Laced with insight on the ways nonwhite people are rendered invisible in the propaganda that passes for our pop culture. . . . I haven’t read anything since Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four that illustrates so palpably how a patient tyrant, unmoored from all humane constraint, can reduce a man’s mind to liquid.�� —Washington Post

“The great achievement of The Sympathizer is that it gives the Vietnamese a voice and demands that we pay attention. Until now, it’s been largely a one-sided conversation—or at least that’s how it seems in American popular culture . . . We’ve never had a story quite like this one before. . . . [Nguyen] has a great deal to say and a knowing, playful, deeply intelligent voice . . . There are so many passages to admire. Mr. Nguyen is a master of the telling ironic phrase and the biting detail, and the book pulses with Catch-22-style absurdities.�� —New York Times

“Beautifully written and meaty . . . really compelling. I had that kid-like feeling of being inside the book.�� —Claire Messed, Boston Globe

“Thrilling in its virtuosity, as in its masterly exploitation of the espionage-thriller genre, The Sympathizer was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and has come to be considered one of the greatest of Vietnam War novels . . . The book’s (unnamed) narrator speaks in an audaciously postmodernist voice, echoing not only Vladimir Nabokov and Ralph Ellison but the Dostoyevsky of Notes from the Underground.�� ―Joyce Carol Oates, New Yorker

“Gleaming and uproarious, a dark comedy of confession filled with charlatans, delusionists and shameless opportunists . . . The Sympathizer, like Graham Greene’s The Quiet American, examines American intentions, often mixed with hubris, benevolence and ineptitude, that lead the country into conflict.�� ―Los Angeles Times

“Both a riveting spy novel and a study in identity.�� ―Entertainment Weekly

“This debut is a page-turner (read: everybody will finish) that makes you reconsider the Vietnam War (read: everyone will have an opinion) . . . Nguyen’s darkly comic novel offers a point of view about American culture that we’ve rarely seen.�� —Oprah.com (Oprah’s Book Club Suggestions)

“The novel’s best parts are painful, hilarious exposures of white tone-deafness . . . [the] satire is delicious.�� —New Yorker

“The Sympathizer reads as part literary historical fiction, part espionage thriller and part satire. American perceptions of Asians serve as some of the book’s most deliciously tart commentary . . . Nguyen knows of what he writes.�� —Los Angeles Times

“Sparkling and audacious . . . Unique and startling . . . Nguyen’s prose is often like a feverish, frenzied dream, a profuse and lively stream of images sparking off the page. . . . Nguyen can be wickedly funny. . . . [His] narrator has an incisive take on Asian-American history and what it means to be a nonwhite American. . . . this remarkable, rollicking read by a Vietnamese immigrant heralds an exciting new voice in American literature.�� —Seattle Times

“Stunned, amazed, impressed. [The Sympathizer is] so skillfully and brilliantly executed that I cannot believe this is a first novel. (I should add jealous to my emotions.) Upends our notions of the Vietnam novel.�� —Chicago Tribune

“A very special, important, brilliant novel . . . Amazing . . . I don’t say brilliant about a lot of books, but this is a brilliant book . . . A fabulous book . . . that everyone should read.�� —Nancy Pearl, KUOW.org

“Dazzling . . . I’ve read scads of Vietnam War books, but The Sympathizer has an exciting quality I haven’t encountered . . . A fascinating exploration of personal identity, cultural identity, and what it means to sympathize with two sides at once.�� —John Powers, Fresh Air, NPR (Books I Wish I’d Reviewed)

“Powerful and evocative . . . Gripping.�� —San Francisco Chronicle

“Welcome a unique new voice to the literary chorus. . . . [The Sympathizer] is, among other things, a character-driven thriller, a political satire, and a biting historical account of colonization and revolution. It dazzles on all fronts.�� —Cleveland Plain Dealer

“[Nguyen’s] books perform an optic tilt about Vietnam and what America did there as profound as Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man and Toni Morrison’s Beloved were to the legacy of racism and slavery.�� —John Freeman, Literary Hub

“For those who have been waiting for the great Vietnamese American Vietnam War novel, this is it. More to the point: This is a great American Vietnam War novel. . . . It is the last word (I hope) on the horrors of the Vietnamese re-education camps that our allies were sentenced to when we left them swinging in the wind.�� —Vietnam Veterans of America

“What a story . . . [An] absorbing, elegantly written book . . . If you are an American, of any culture or color, you will benefit from reading this book which offers, in exquisite thought and phrase, the multi-layered experience of a war most Americans have blotted out of consciousness, suppressed, or willfully ignored. I’ve been waiting to read this book for decades.�� ―Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple

“Magisterial. A disturbing, fascinating and darkly comic take on the fall of Saigon and its aftermath, and a powerful examination of guilt and betrayal. The Sympathizer is destined to become a classic and redefine the way we think about the Vietnam War and what it means to win and to lose.�� —T.C. Boyle

“Trapped in endless civil war, ‘the man who has two minds�� tortures and is tortured as he tries to meld the halves of his country and of himself. Viet Thanh Nguyen accomplishes this integration in a magnificent feat of storytelling. The Sympathizer is a novel of literary, historical, and political importance.�� —Maxine Hong Kingston, author of The Fifth Book of Peace

“It is a strong, strange and liberating joy to read this book, feeling with each page that a broken world is being knitted back together, once again whole and complete. As far as I am concerned, Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer—both a great American novel and a great Vietnamese novel—will close the shelf on the literature of the Vietnam War.�� —Bob Shacochis, author of The Woman Who Lost Her Soul

“Read this novel with care; it is easy to read, wry, ironic, wise, and captivating, but it could change not only your outlook on the Vietnam War, but your outlook on what you believe about politics and ideology in general. It does what the best of literature does, expands your consciousness beyond the limitations of your body and individual circumstances.�� —Karl Marinates, author of Matterhorn and What It Is Like to Go to War

“Not only does Viet Thanh Nguyen bring a rare and authentic voice to the body of American literature generated by the Vietnam War, he has created a book that transcends history and politics and nationality and speaks to the enduring theme of literature: the universal quest for self, for identity. The Sympathizer is a stellar debut by a writer of depth and skill.�� —Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain

“The Sympathizer is a remarkable and brilliant book. By turns harrowing, and cut through by shards of unexpected and telling humor, this novel gives us the conflict in Vietnam, and its aftermath, in a way that is deeply truthful, and vitally important.�� —Vincent Lam, author of Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures and The Headmaster’s Wager

“I think I'd have to go all the way back to Nabokov’s Humbert Humbert to find the last narrative voice that so completely conked me over the head and took me prisoner. Nguyen and his unnamed protagonist certainly have made a name for themselves with one of the smartest, darkest, funniest books you'll read this year.�� —David Abrams, author of Hobbit

“Audaciously and vividly imagined. A compelling read.�� —Andrew X. Pham, author of Catfish and Mandala

“Nguyen’s cross-grained protagonist exposes the hidden costs in both countries of America’s tragic Asian misadventure. Nguyen’s probing literary art illuminates how Americans failed in their political and military attempt to remake Vietnam—but then succeeded spectacularly in shrouding their failure in Hollywood distortions. Compelling—and profoundly unsettling.�� —Booklist (starred review)

“A closely written novel of after-the-war Vietnam, when all that was solid melted into air. As Graham Greene and Robert Stone have taught us, on the streets of Saigon, nothing is as it seems. . . . Think Alan Furst meets Elmore Leonard, and you’ll capture Nguyen at his most surreal . . . Both chilling and funny, and a worthy addition to the library of first-rate novels about the Vietnam War.��—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“[An] astonishing first novel . . . Nguyen’s novel enlivens debate about history and human nature, and his narrator has a poignant often mindful voice.�� —Publishers Weekly (starred, boxed review)

“Breathtakingly cynical, the novel has its hilarious moments . . . Ultimately a meditation on war, political movements, America's imperialist role, the CIA, torture, loyalty, and one's personal identity, this is a powerful, thought-provoking work. It's hard to believe this effort . . . is a debut. This is right up there with Denis Johnson's Tree of Smoke." —Library Journal (starred review)

Praise - continued:

“I cannot remember the last time I read a novel whose protagonist I liked so much. Smart, funny, and self-critical, with a keen sense of when to let a story speak for itself (and when to gloss it with commentary). He’s someone I would like to have a beer with, despite the fact that his life’s work is the betrayal of his friends. . . . [Nguyen] proves a gifted and bold satirist.�� —Barnes & Noble Review

Riveting . . . The Sympathizer is not only a masterly espionage novel, but also a seminal work of 21st century American fiction. Giving voice to the Vietnamese experience in the United States, Nguyen offers profound insights into the legacy of war and the politically and racially charged atmosphere of the 1970s.�� —B�Ǵǰ����ǰ��ٱ��

“[A] shimmering debut novel . . . Leaping with lyrical verve, each page turns to a unique and hauntingly familiar voice that refuses to let us forget what people are capable of doing to each other.�� —Asian American Writers�� Workshop

“Arresting . . . One of the best pieces of fiction about the Vietnam war—and by a Vietnamese. . . . Stunning . . . Could it be that Nguyen has captured the shape of the devolution of war itself, from grand ambition to human ruin? . . . One of the finest novels of the Vietnam War published in recent years.�� —The Daily Beast

“[An] intriguing confessional . . . [a] tour de force . . . So taken was I by the first quarter of the book that I believed myself to be reading an actual confession . . . The character himself . . . and the quality of the narration seized me, leaving me almost breathless in my pursuit of an ending.�� —Sewage Review

“Tremendously funny, with a demanding verbal texture . . . Both tender and a bit of a romp, the book reminded me of how big books can be.�� —Guardian (Best Books of 2015)

“Astounding . . . [The unnamed narrator] will be compared to the morally exhausted spies, intelligence officers and double agents of Joseph Conrad, Graham Greene, and John le Carré.�� —Toronto Star

Some General Questions to Keep in mind when Reading the book:

The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Viet Thanh Nguyen’s powerful novel dramatizes the double-mindedness of a sleeper agent navigating both a divided, war-torn Vietnam and a polarized America.

1. What is the significance of the title, The Sympathizer?

2. How does the protagonist’s mixed parentage, his “outsiderness,�� anticipate his dual nature and divided loyalties?

3. The novel takes the form of a long confession written by the narrator in prison. How effective is this approach? What quandaries does it raise regarding truth and coercion?

4. In what way, or how accurately, do the scenes about the production of a film about the Vietnam War, a take-off on Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, reflect how Vietnam was actually depicted in American media and culture?��

5. Would you describe The Sympathizer as satire? Perhaps in the vein of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22?

6. The narrator is a spy, a secret agent. Is The Sympathizer an espionage thriller? Or is Nguyen playing with the conventions of a thriller?

7. What impact did American culture have on the Vietnamese refugees as they sought to assimilate in their adopted homeland?

8. When Vietnamese refugees returned home, how do think they were viewed by those who never left?

9. Do you think that younger readers will experience a different impact from this novel than readers who grew up in the Vietnam era?

10. Has The Sympathizer altered your perception of the Vietnam War? If so, how?

The Publisher's Reading Guide Questions:

The Sympathizer
By Viet Thanh Nguyen

Discussion Questions:

Discuss the relevance of the title, The Sympathizer. Who do you think the author wants the reader to sympathize with? What are the different ways throughout the book that the author demonstrates sympathetic characters and situations?

The novel opens with a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche: "Let us not become gloomy as soon as we hear the word 'torture': in this particular case there is plenty to offset and mitigate that word—even something to laugh at." How is this sentiment explored in The Sympathizer? Discuss this statement as it applies to the characters in the novel and Vietnam.

How has the refugee experience in America changed since the Vietnam War? Has it changed much or not at all? Or both? What adjustments has the United States made in how it deals with countries during and after war? What are the lessons learned from the Vietnam War and how have those lessons been applied to current wars?

What is the author saying about the effects of war on politics?

How are dreams used to discuss duality? What deeper meaning do the dreams represent for the Captain's already fractured psyche?

Why do you think the author included a supernatural element in The Sympathizer? How does the presence of ghosts change the protagonist? What do they represent to the narrator? Are the readers meant to take the presence of the ghosts literally?

Guilt is a theme throughout the novel. What is the role of guilt in the lives of the characters? Does it compel them to try and right past wrongs, or make them more culpable? Or both?

What is the function of sexuality in the novel? How are sexuality and the war intertwined, according to Nguyen?

Mao said: "art and literature were crucial to revolution" what role, if any, does art and literature play in politics? "Movies were America's way of softening up the rest of the world." Do you agree or disagree with this assessment? Provide examples of movies you have seen that accomplish this.

On page 274, Ms. Mori declares "you must claim America" what does she mean by this? Do you agree or disagree with her? Do you think this is how refugees and immigrants feel once they come to America? Explain your answers.

Why is the narrator of The Sympathizer important? Is he a reliable narrator?

What affect does the narrator's arrival in America have on his "two minds?" Discuss the changes in his relationship with Man, Bon, and the General after he becomes a refugee.

On page 15, the narrator says about Man and Bon: "These men were better than any real brothers I could have had, for we had chosen each other." Discuss the role family plays in the lives of the different characters in the novel.

The narrator states early in the novel: "If ever circumstances forced us into a situation where death was the price of our brotherhood, I had no doubt that Man and I would pay." Do you think he is foreshadowing events to come? Why or why not? Why do you think he feels this way about himself and Man but doesn't include Bon?

Throughout the novel Man, Bon, and the narrator are referred to as a group, but let's take a deeper look at the blood brothers individually—who is Man, Bon, and the narrator? What makes them blood brothers and what sets them apart? Of the three why is the narrator the only one without a name?

Why is the Captain more upset by his reaction to being called a bastard than the word itself?

There are several compelling female characters: Madame, Ms. Mori, the narrator's mother, and Lana. Discuss how Nguyen fleshes out the female characters and their roles in the novel.

What does the narrator discover about himself when he travels to the Philippines to consult on The Hamlet? What is his greatest challenge there? How are his expectations and memories transformed by this visit? In what way does the Captain identify with the movie extras? How does he set himself apart from them?

The Captain describes himself as "morally disorientated" following the death of the crapulent Major, what do you think he means by this? Do you think he discovers something previously unknown about himself? Explain your opinions.

At one point Sonny describes love as "being able to talk to someone else without effort, without hiding, and at the same time to feel absolutely comfortable not saying a word." How do you describe love? Discuss whether you have experienced the kind of love Sonny feels for Ms. Mori.

How does Sonny serve as a foil to the narrator? Why do you think the narrator confesses to Sonny? What is the significance of the narrator's visit to Lana before meeting with Sonny? He also returns to her after the "deed is done," why do you suppose he does this? What is he hoping to find?

What does the female agent mean when she is asked her name and she replies: "My surname is Viet and my given name is Nam?" In that moment, is she meant to represent Vietnam? Who else in the novel could be a substitute for the country? How does Vietnam function as a character in the story?

Do you feel the harrowing experience of the female agent was meant to humanize the narrator? What was your initial reaction after he recalls the memory? How did this affect your attitude toward the narrator?

At the end of the novel, the narrator "graduates" and is finally allowed to meet the commissar. How does the narrator react when he learns who that is? What was your reaction to the reveal?

After everything that the narrator has been through his last words are a passionate celebration of life "We will live!" Why do you think the author chose to end the novel on such an optimistic note? Were you surprised by the ending? What are your thoughts about what is happening in the last chapter?

Hello Everyone - welcome to The Sympathizer discussion.

by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Syllabus and Reading Schedule

This is the Week One Reading Schedule - June 5th through June 11th

This week's reading includes Chapters One through the end of Chapter Six - pages 1 - 110

The Chapters do not have titles on them. They are simply numbered.

Introduction and Let us Get Started:

Folks please introduce yourself and let us know why this book interested you and what you hope to get from reading it?

Have any of you had first hand experiences in the Vietnam War - having served at that time?

Are there any Vietnamese who are with us on this read and discussion? Possibly you can join in and let us know your viewpoints or those of your parents or grandparents.

Are there any of you who have some personal accounts of that time period and the war itself? We would love to hear from all of you.

What were your thoughts then concerning the war and what are your thoughts now?

Do you have any opinions on the presidents who brought us into war at that time or LBJ who inherited and escalated the war before we got out?

The Vietnam Era was a tough period in the history of America and to this day there are still many who bear the wounds from that conflict. This book will present a different voice and viewpoint from the another side and perspective of the conflict.

This week we are reading and discussion Chapters 1 - 6:

Discussion Questions to open up with:

Note: These are questions that we can circle back to over and over again as we read this book. We can add to our thoughts on these questions as we go along.

1. Discuss the relevance of the title, The Sympathizer. Who do you think the author wants the reader to sympathize with? What are the different ways throughout the book that the author demonstrates sympathetic characters and situations?

2. The novel opens with a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche: "Let us not become gloomy as soon as we hear the word 'torture': in this particular case there is plenty to offset and mitigate that word—even something to laugh at." How is this sentiment explored in The Sympathizer? Discuss this statement as it applies to the characters in the novel and Vietnam.

3. How has the refugee experience in America changed since the Vietnam War? Has it changed much or not at all? Or both? What adjustments has the United States made in how it deals with countries during and after war? What are the lessons learned from the Vietnam War and how have those lessons been applied to current wars?

There really is no Table of Contents in this book folks - so we will go by Chapter Numbers.

SYLLABUS (Assigned Reading and Dates):

Week One - June 5th - through June 11th - Chapters 1 - 6 - pages 1 - 110

Week Two - June 12th - through June 18th - Chapters 7 - 12 - pages 111 - 211

Week Three - June 19th - through June 25th - Chapters 13 - 19 - pages 212 - 323

Week Four - June 26th - July 3rd - Chapters 20 though 23 and the Acknowledgements as well as Our Vietnam War Never Ended and Viet Thanh Nguyen - Anger in the Asian American Novel - Pages 324 through the end of the book - 393 or so - some of the pages are not numbered at the end

All, I have opened up the thread so that we can begin discussion - remember this is a single thread discussion so you must be careful about spoilers. We do not have this problem on a multi thread discussion.

However for my benefit and for everybody else's I am changing things a bit. If you are posting during the week of the reading schedule and you are only posting information about that week's reading and not going ahead - then you do not have to use the spoiler html. However, if you go ahead of the weekly reading and want to post ahead about some topic or page or quote that we have not been assigned yet and have not read - you are bound to use the spoiler html with the header or your post will be moved to the spoiler glossary thread.

At any time you can post on the spoiler glossary thread but on this discussion thread we are posting and staying with the assignments and not getting ahead if in fact you do not want to be bound to use the spoiler html.

So it is up to you. If you stay with the assignments and do not post about something ahead that is coming up - you do not have to use the spoiler html but if you don't and you get ahead or you want to talk about something expansive then you MUST use the spoiler html or post it on the glossary spoiler thread.

Those of you who are going to read THE SYMPATHIZER. Use the spoiler html if you plan to post about pages ahead of the weekly discussion because this is a single thread discussion.

1. Read messages 11, 12, 13, 14 and those messages shows you the rules for the BOTM discussion and how to do the spoiler html.

2. Messages 13 and 14 actually show you the spoiler html code. Use it on this thread if you plan to go ahead of the weekly assigned reading or if you become more expansive. You can post expansive material on the glossary thread with spoiler html but here you must use the spoiler html if you get ahead or become too expansive.

3. Where is the Table of Contents and the Weekly Reading Assignments? - for this novel - there is no table of contents but check message 10 for the syllabus for all four weeks so that your reading schedule matches the assigned reading for that week.

Remember the following:

Everyone is welcome but make sure to use the goodreads spoiler function if you get ahead of the assigned weekly pages.

If you come to the discussion after folks have finished reading it, please feel free to post your comments as we will always come back to the thread to discuss the book.

The rules

You must follow the rules of the History Book Club and also:

First rule of Book of the Month discussions:
Respect other people's opinions, no matter how controversial you think they may be.

Second rule of Book of the Month discussions:
Always, always Chapter/page mark and spoiler alert your posts if you are discussing parts of the book that are ahead of the pages assigned or if you have become expansive it your topics.

To do these spoilers, follows these easy steps:

Step 1. enclose the word spoiler in forward and back arrows; < >

Step 2. write your spoiler comments in

Step 3. enclose the word /spoiler in arrows as above, BUT NOTE the forward slash in front of the word. You must put that forward slash in.

Your spoiler should appear like this:
(view spoiler)

And please mark your spoiler clearly like this:

State a Chapter and page if you can.
EG: Chapter 24, page 154

Or say Up to Chapter *___ (*insert chapter number) if your comment is more broad and not from a single chapter.

Chapter 1, p. 23
(view spoiler)[I know everything now about chapter one and I am going to post it here - oops I better place this in a spoiler alert so I do not ruin the book for others (hide spoiler)]

If you are raising a question/issue for the group about the book, you don't need to put that in a spoiler, but if you are citing something specific, it might be good to use a spoiler.

By using spoilers, you don't ruin the experience of someone who is reading slower or started later or is not reading the assigned pages.

Thanks.

All, we do not have to do citations regarding the book or the author being discussed during the book discussion on these discussion threads - nor do we have to cite any personage in the book being discussed while on the discussion threads related to this book.

However if we discuss folks outside the scope of the book or another book is cited which is not the book and author discussed then we do have to do that citation according to our citation rules. That makes it easier to not disrupt the discussion.

You can copy and paste below to get your spoiler right:

(view spoiler)[Put Text Here (hide spoiler)]

This is the discussion thread folks and is the non spoiler thread.

The other thread is the glossary which is the spoiler thread.

The book begins with a short epigraph:

"Let us not become gloomy as soon as we hear the word "torture": in this particular case there is plenty to offer and mitigate that word - even something to laugh at." -- Friedrich Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals





Link to On the Genealogy of Morals:



Meaning of Work:


Link to video:

Another Link and explanation by Dr. Sandler videos: Friedrich Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morals (part 1) - Existentialism -

Summary:

We begin our study of one of Friedrich Nietzsche's great systematic works, The Genealogy of Morals, focusing on the first essay: "Good and Evil", "Good and Bad".

In this section of the work, Nietzsche discusses the origin of the notion of "Good", and distinguishes between an original, noble, self-asserting valuation of Good vs. Bad, and a reactive, common/slave, denying valuation of Evil vs. Good.

We also discuss the concept of ressentiment -- a reactive mode of valuation which becomes established within people, culture, and institutions -- and the present situation of Western culture as one marked by nihilism.

Nietzsche also engages in important critique of the "English psychologists", who he thinks fundamentally misunderstand the origins of morality and moral conceptions by attempting to focus on utility or usefulness. Hebert Spenser is one of the figures whose Ethical views Nietzsche contests.

For Nietzsche, a more fruitful approach is suggested my philology, or the story of classical languages. The history of our moral concepts can be reconstructed by examining the uses of terms such as "good" and its opposites.

Three main figures - and their determinate types of valuation - are examined: the Noble, warrior, kingly type; the Priestly type, and the Mass or Herd of common people.

Second Link to Part Two Video: Friedrich Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morals (part 2) - Existentialism -

Summary:

This is the focus on the second essay: "Guilt, Bad Conscience, and the Like".

We discuss a number of different themes emerging in the story Nietzsche reconstructs in this essay -- aiming at understanding the origin and the development of responsibility and the "bad conscience" widespread in modern times and culture, deeply involved in the late modern condition of nihilism.

Among these themes are punishment, cruelty, and suffering, the will-to-power, the distinction between origin and purpose, and the inward turn of frustrated instincts forced by the development of the state and of religion -- and the present situation of Western culture as one marked by nihilism.

We examine specifically the nature of punishment and its range of meanings, originating in - but not reducible to - the relationship between creditor and debtor. Punishment mediates an economy of pleasure and pain, suffering and power.

Link to Part Three Video: Friedrich Nietzsche, Genealogy of Morals (part 3) - Existentialism


Summary:

This is the focus on the third essay: "What is the Meaning of Ascetic Ideals"

This section's title asks a question to which Nietzsche will provide several answers in the course of carrying his Genealogy down to the present day.

We start off with some material later in the essay to frame the topics earlier on in the third essay, and then shift to discussing various types of person and the asceticism corresponding to those types: artist, philosopher, priest.

How do ascetic ideals develop and then take hold within societies and cultures, eventually displacing or suppressing the original morality of the noble, warrior type? Ideals of purity, opposed to contamination or to uncleanness are part of the picture, as are the development - or reinterpretation and elaboration - of religious systems.

Key ideals of philosophy can be understood as expressions of an originally priestly, ascetic ideal - impersonality, universality, objectivity, and detachment

Link to Part Four Video: Friedrich Nietzsche, The Genealogy of Morals (part 4) - Existentialism - Link:

Summary:

This is a discussion of the selected portions of the third essay.

We start out by discussing the connection between the roles of the Priest and the Philosopher as types of ascetics, the relationship between the Priest and the Herd, with both of these understood as "unhealthy types" in Nietzsche's view.

We also go through some of Nietzsche's views about affects (emotions, desires, etc), and how the Priest type uses affect-based remedies to redirect their own and the Herd's ressentiment. This allows some management of the guilt, nausea, and depression of herd existence.

We finish by asking whether an atheistic, scientific, anti-religious, anti-traditional viewpoint really escapes -- or simply continues -- the ascetic ideal, and with Nietzsche's view that a critique of the value of truth is now needed. As it turns out the Enlightenment, and the modern scientific mindset is really just an additional development of the ascetic idea, coming originally from the priests and then from the philosophers.

Source: Wikipedia, Youtube - Dr. Sandler videos

Discussion Question - after examining all of the above -

a) The novel opens with a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche: "Let us not become gloomy as soon as we hear the word 'torture': in this particular case there is plenty to offset and mitigate that word—even something to laugh at."

b) How is this sentiment explored in The Sympathizer? Discuss this statement as it applies to the characters in the novel and Vietnam.

Chapter Overviews and Summaries:

Chapter One:

The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen, is the story of an unnamed Communist spy who, after the fall of Saigon, flees to the United States with the General he has been assigned to spy on. In Chapter 1 the narrator is writing his confession to the Commandant in an isolation cell and begins his story at the point when he is still in Vietnam spying on the General and living at the General's villa.

Chapter Two:

In Chapter 2, the narrator continues his letter to the Commandant, telling him of his feelings about being the bastard child of a Vietnamese woman and a French priest. The narrator tells the Commandant that he paid the necessary bribes to arrange the evacuation of ninety-two people at the General's request.

Chapter Three:

As Chapter 3 begins, the narrator thanks the Commandant for the notes he and the commissar provided about the narrator's confession. The narrator admits he cannot help but identify with the evacuees since he has spent most of his life with them; he says his weakness for sympathizing has much to do with being a bastard.

Chapter Four:

Chapter Four deals with the evacuation. In Chapter 4 the evacuees arrive in Guam, and an ambulance comes to take Linh's and Duc's bodies away. The General decides to walk among the refugees to try to boost their morale, but since most are civilians they do not respond well to him. The evacuees are taken to Camp Pendleton in San Diego where they go to another refugee camp, which is nicer than the last one.

Chapter Five:

In Chapter 5, the narrator begins by saying he is being honest in his confession because he doesn't understand why he is imprisoned and that if he is to be condemned, he will confess in a style of his own choosing. The General plans to hold a grand opening for his liquor store. The General has hired Bon as a clerk at the narrator's request. When the narrator goes to the General's liquor store before the grand opening, the General invites him into the office and the narrator is certain he's been found out as a spy.

Chapter Six:

Chapter 6 begins with the General enjoying the grand opening of his store. The narrator talks to the major and they arrange to go out for dinner together. The narrator goes out to breakfast with major and is astounded that the General could believe this man is a spy. That night the narrator talks to Bon about the planned assassination and says it will be murder if the major is not a spy.

Source: The Sympathizer, Book Rags, Reviews

Here is an excerpt from Chapter One for those folks who are contemplating joining in:

Discussion Questions:

1. What do folks remember about the Vietnam War and the Fall of Saigon? When did the war begin? What was the U.S. involvement in the war? What was the Soviet involvement in the war? When did the U.S. pull out of Vietnam? What were the impacts of the Fall of Saigon?

2. Are there any members who were soldiers in the Vietnam War or protested against it. Or do you remember the news that was broadcast about the war at the time? What are your memories of this period in history?

Note: February 12th, 1955 was the date that the first American advisers were dispatched to Viet Nam - 7,382 days later is the day it ended for the Americans and the government of South Viet Nam - April 30, 1975 - Link to Broadcast - Fall of Saigon -

Summary of Link:
On April 30, 1975, the city of Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces, ending the Vietnam War. Americans sat transfixed at the chaotic scenes on their television screens as thousands of desperate South Vietnamese and American personnel evacuated the communist-controlled city. Days of rocket attacks had heavily damaged runways at Tan Son Nhat airport, forcing evacuees to escape the country by helicopters that landed inside the U.S. Embassy compound. The frantic airlift stranded hundreds of South Vietnamese and became a lasting symbol of the end of a war that created deep divisions among the American people.

Source: The Sympathizer, Daily News, Bookrags, The Newseum, Youtube

The Fall of Saigon:

CBS News Reporting:

Former CBC correspondent, Mike Duffy, reports on the American evacuation of Saigon 40 years ago

Link:

Source: Youtube

Let us get started.

All I will be placing many other ancillary material on the glossary thread.

a) Just post here that you are reading the book and your thoughts so far. Remember we are only reading Chapters 1 - 6 this week and that is what we are discussing now without the use of html spoilers.

b) You can also begin after your brief intro to discuss anything in messages 7, 8, 9, 16, 19 for starters.

c) Who is going to be the first to jump into the discussion?

d) Also what are your memories of the Vietnam War? How old were you, where were you at the time? Were you living in the United States or another country? What are your thoughts on the book so far?

I'm just starting the book so I'm not able to comment on it as yet. The video links are excellent sources of information. I'm interested in history of all kinds and enjoy reading along when possible. As to any experience, I was a baby but my older cousin was killed one night while sleeping.....that's all I know. Many of my patients are veterans of the war with some still suffering terrible mental anguish so I'd like to understand what happened to them and others.

Welcome Powder River Rose - I think many folks have stories of Vietnam and while reading the book - it will be good to hear all of them from all points of view. I am sorry about your older cousin - so many families lost loved ones.

A good reason for reading this book - you might not get answers as to why this all occurred but you will get some answers as to "what" which may give you some understanding of what the veterans of that war suffered. I think that one of the issues is that they were fighting this war without the full support of the resources that were available to them. And I think politics got in the way more than once. I am sure that it was as difficult for the South Vietnamese who were displaced or worse - so that is another side that will be discussed from the perspective of the book.

Mental anguish is a terrible thing.

Where are you reading from Powder River Rose - we always like to find out where everybody is from in a general sense.

For example. I am Bentley - originally hailing from New England but now in the Metro New York city area.

I'm Terry, live in Washington State which is where I was when I remember the War. My graduation from high school occurred just after the end of the war. My male class mates had all registered for the draft and were relieved when the draft ended.

This book piqued by interest because of the visual memories I have from the news and print reporting throughout my preteen and teenage years. The war influenced politics from my adolescence into my adult hood and I think this book will give me insight into Vietnamese impressions of the US after the war.

I came to know quite a few vets during college and afterwards in all stages of trying to cope with their experiences there. I'm sorry to say that many of them didn't survive coming home. Drugs, Alcohol and PTSD has taken their toll.

I've connected with the characters of this book right away.

Welcome Terry - you actually remember a great deal about this time period.

It is a shame what the veterans had to go through both in Vietnam and what is worse when they came home.

I think it says a lot about the book itself that you connected with the characters right away.

All, I would suggest you watch the videos that I am posting on the glossary called the Fall of Saigon - I believe there are eight segments. That will give you some historical background into what the Vietnamese who became refugees went through in terms of the challenged and sorely insufficient evacuation. What a donnybrook. These are actual documented footage from that time period. Very sad.

Also on the main page - there is a documentary on the Vietnam War that I suggest you watch along with the short interview with the author. That will give you the backdrop for the novel.

I was a young man of 24 when the North Vietnamese entered Saigon, and this book evokes memories of the chaos of the evacuation. The author's verbal imagery is really good, and he does a great job of creating the atmosphere. I am still in the early stages of the novel (the protagonist has just arrived in Guam), but am looking forward to the rest of the book.

John we are delighted to have you with us. It looks like you are from New Zealand. Were you in Vietnam at the time? Were you a witness first hand?

Though a novel - I think the imagery is pitch perfect. I agree with you.

By the way, I had a member criticize this choice as one of our Book of the Month reads. It is a novel yes but it is historically accurate in terms of the events and it gives us a unique perspective - that of a Vietnamese. At the History Book Club we cover history, non fiction, historical fiction, classics and also some unique novels when they come up. This is one of those novels which is almost historical in nature while at the same time being a novel and fiction as it relates to the characters. However, in our discussion we will also be discussing the actual events of the Vietnam War and their effect upon Americans, the Vietnamese, both sides of the conflict and both perspectives of the war itself. So this is a great springboard for a discussion of the Vietnam War. I hope you all agree as we begin this journey. Jump in at any time and do it frequently and try to respond to the questions as they are posted.

So far it's been a great read. A very unique perspective allowing the author to comment from the VC side or the RVN or US perspective on both the war, the Vietnamese expat culture or US society in general, as desired. I had forgotten most of the events surrounding the last days in Saigon, and this seems like a fairly authentic retelling, again from an unusual point of view.

Since he tells us he is writing his "confession" in prison, I have to assume that he went back and was rightfully or wrongly accused of having succumbed to the decadence of the US. Certainly that has to be a plot twist to wait for; unless he falls prey to the lure, there wouldn't be much point to the story since we know there never was an RVN counter-revolution.

Bentley wrote: "Welcome Powder River Rose - I think many folks have stories of Vietnam and while reading the book - it will be good to hear all of them from all points of view. I am sorry about your older cousin -..."

My name is Rose, I was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon though now call the central Oregon coast my home. I read because I like to know things. Thank you for your kindness but I truly did not know and rarely was there any conversation of my cousin, which I think was more to shelter me than any other reason. Yes, many loved ones were lost; wars throughout history have truly wreaked havoc on families.
I'm sorry to hear of any criticism about reading this book since I feel it to be a time worthy of understanding and well, it's a part of history even if a more "current" event.
The videos are quite informative, told from many perspectives and offer a concise depiction of the final days of Saigon and the war.
I appreciate the posts I've been reading and look forward to learning more.

Douglas wrote: "So far it's been a great read. A very unique perspective allowing the author to comment from the VC side or the RVN or US perspective on both the war, the Vietnamese expat culture or US society in ..."


We will have to wait to find out but I too think that the book though a novel gives a different narrative about the war. Welcome to you Douglas - where are you reading from. We always ask.

Powder River Rose wrote: "Bentley wrote: "Welcome Powder River Rose - I think many folks have stories of Vietnam and while reading the book - it will be good to hear all of them from all points of view. I am sorry about you..."

Welcome again Rose from the great state of Oregon - home of the ducks and Nike. I agree with you about the book and its selection. And I think that many of us need a refresher on what actually happened during the Vietnam War - which everyone discusses - but sadly many have forgotten the history itself - which I am sure still torments some to this day who were part of that conflict.

Chapter One:



1. What are your thoughts about the opening of Chapter One? How do you feel about the narrator? Did you like this opening as much as I did? What are your thoughts on this auspicious beginning?

"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 the 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. "

Chapter Two:


In some cases, parents were forced to stay behind after placing their children in evacuation helicopters that were already filled

Chapter Three:


Evacuation from Embassy Roof

Chapter Four:


US Resumes Viet Air Lift to Guam - Chicago Tribune

Vietnamese refugees arrive in Guam aboard the SS Transcolorado, during Operation ...HD Stock Footage
Link:

Source: Chicago Tribune, Youtube, Critical Past

Chapter Five:


Newly arrived Vietnamese refugees mill around the relocation center at Camp Pendleton in June, 1975 - LA Times

Chapter Six:



Tent City: Vietnamese refugees began new lives in Camp Pendleton’s 1975 ‘tent city��


Link: Video - Tent City


Link: 40 years later: Camp Pendleton photo comes full circle


Source: LA Times, Youtube

For those of you looking ahead - here is the schedule for next week:

There really is no Table of Contents in this book folks - so we will go by Chapter Numbers.

SYLLABUS (Assigned Reading and Dates):

Week Two - June 12th - through June 18th - Chapters 7 - 12 - pages 111 - 211

Folks jump in any time - this week we can discuss anything in Chapters One through Six - up through page 110 without using any spoiler html.

There is a lot of ground to cover so in advance I am going to put up the Chapter Overviews and Summaries for next week early:

Chapter Overviews and Summaries:

Chapter Seven:

Chapter Seven begins with the narrator admitting to the Commandant that the major's death is troubling. There is a wedding and Ms. Mori attends. The General's daughter Lana is one of the singers. The groom's father is referred to as Clark Gable because of his mustache. The Congressman praises the Vietnamese and talks to the narrator about his causes and the narrator reads his script.

Chapter Eight:

Chapter 8 begins with the narrator summarizing the movie script. The narrator arrives at the Auteur's house who tells the narrator that he is the first Vietnamese he has ever met and that he has researched Vietnam by reading Buttinger and Fitzgerald. The General shows the narrator articles about the major's funeral and wedding.

Chapter Nine:

In Chapter 9, Violet calls the narrator; Auteur reconsidered his advice and respects the narrator for standing up to him; refugees who are in the Philippines will be used as extras. The narrator accepts the movie position and goes to a refugee camp to recruit extras and experiences homesickness.

Chapter Ten:

Chapter 10 begins with Auteur arriving and throwing himself a welcome party. The non-combat scenes of the movie are shot. The narrator discusses the fate of the one black character and other scenes are completed.

Chapter Eleven:

In Chapter 11 - the narrator says that the movie seems like propaganda and is injured in one of the scenes. The narrator remembers an interrogation and had written a confession damaging the Watchman.

Chapter Twelve:

Chapter 12 finds the narrator flying back to America without having been invited back to the movie set. Madame and the General have opened a restaurant to try to fund a revolution with a group of veterans. The narrator discusses his time in the Philippines. The narrator visits Ms. Mori; her cat hates the narrator.

Theme One - Betrayal:



Discussion Questions:

1. How does the theme of betrayal pervade this book from page one until the end?

a) This is a theme that we can discuss now and as we read the book.
In Chapters 1 - 6 - who do we see betraying others? How is the narrator the prime example of "betrayal". Who and what does he betray?

2. Here is a multiple choice quiz to see how you are doing in Chapters One through Three: (let us know how well you did)

1. Who wrote the following quote that opens the novel: "Let us not become gloomy as soon as we hear the word 'torture'"?

(a) Edgar Allan Poe.
(b) Friedrich Nietzsche.
(c) Karl Marx.
(d) Adolf Hitler.

2. For how many years does the narrator say he lived in the villa with the General when the Fall of Saigon occurred in Chapter 1?

(a) 5.
(b) 3.
(c) 2.
(d) 10.

3. How many fingers does the narrator describe the General having lost in Chapter 1?

(a) 3.
(b) 6.
(c) 1.
(d) 5.

4. Who is the author of Asian Communism and the Oriental Mode of Destruction?

(a) Nikolay Chernyshevsky.
(b) Chairman Mao.
(c) Karl Marx.
(d) Richard Hedd.

5. What is the name of Bon's wife?

(a) Linh.
(b) Violet.
(c) Sofia.
(d) Lana.

6. Who wrote the quote cited in Chapter 1: "consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds"?

(a) Friedrich Nietzsche.
(b) Ralph Waldo Emerson.
(c) Nikolay Chernyshevsky.
(d) Richard Hedd.

7. Who is the dictator of the Philippines when the narrator leaves in Chapter 1?

(a) Emilio Aguinaldo.
(b) Karl Marx.
(c) Chairman Mao.
(d) Ferdinand Marcos.

8. What Beatles' song does the narrator describe singing in the bar with Man and Bon in Chapter 1?

(a) "Yesterday."
(b) "Help!"
(c) "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
(d) "Black Bird."

9. To whom is the narrator writing his confession in Chapter 2?

(a) To the Commandant.
(b) To the Congressman.
(c) To the General.
(d) To Bon.

10. What does the narrator say his father called him in Chapter 2?

(a) "A prodigy."
(b) "His love child."
(c) "A bastard."
(d) "Nothing at all."

11. What happens to Bon's family as they flee Vietnam in Chapter 3?

Sources: The Sympathizer, Bookrags

The Beatle's Song Yesterday:

Link: Yesterday - The Beatles - with lyrics

Source: Youtube

Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson



Link to the work:

Sources: Youtube, Wordpress, QuoteAddicts

Experiences of Vietnam Veterans Returning Home from War

Link:

Summary:
When veterans returned home from Vietnam, some were treated well but many were treated very poorly. This segment from Iowa Public Television's Iowans Remember Vietnam documentary includes archival footage and and first-person accounts from several veterans who share their experiences of returning home from the war.

Source: IowaPublicTelevision

A Sense of Duty:



Link to Video:

Summary - What happened to those left behind?

Only a couple of days before the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, Quang Pham, his mother, and siblings were driven out of Saigon on a motor scooter by their father, a South Vietnamese pilot helping the American forces during the Vietnam War.

Quang’s father stayed behind, was captured by the Viet Cong, and placed in a prisoner-of-war camp for ten years while Quang and the rest of his family fled the country, stopping at the Fort Chaffee refugee camp in Little Rock before eventually settling in California.

The author went on to study at UCLA, joined the U.S. Marines as a helicopter pilot and fought in the first Gulf War as well as in Somalia. Mr. Pham tells his story in A Sense of Duty: My Father, My American Journey.

by Quang Pham (no photo)

Discussion Question:

1. Was the author of The Sympathizer trying to capture the sense of betrayal by America leaving behind the Vietnamese who had supported them? In what ways?

The Narrator:

Everybody has already met the narrator in Chapter One - what are your thoughts about what kind of man he was - the author indicates that the narrator is “a man of two minds and divided loyalties.�� A half-French, half-Vietnamese communist sleeper agent sent to America at the Fall of Saigon. Throughout the book - this character will aptly capture the divisions and contradictions inherent in many Vietnamese during and following the Vietnam War.

Discussion Questions:

1. Let us discuss the narrator and what are the divisions and contradictions inherent in this character with represents how the Vietnamese feel and felt during and following the Vietnam War. How is the author doing in capturing this sense of duality and betrayal and contradictions in human emotions?

2. The narrator is the main character and protagonist so we will be revisiting his role throughout the book and so should you. Please post your thoughts about the above iteratively as you read the book.

This discussion is for the members so please jump in any time and post your opinions and ideas. Try to respond to some of the discussion questions.

Who was Nikolay Chernyshevsky?


Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky (Russian: Никола́й Гаври́лович Черныше́вский; 12 July 1828 �� 17 October 1889) was a Russian revolutionary democrat, materialist philosopher, critic, and socialist (seen by some as a utopian socialist). He was the leader of the revolutionary democratic movement of the 1860s, and had an influence on Vladimir Lenin, Emma Goldman, and Serbian political writer and socialist Svetozar Marković.

Remainder of article:



The Work - "What is to be done"
Link:

Audio:

The Most Politically Dangerous Book You Never Heard Of


Source: Wikipedia, Libravox, Politico

Powerful Quote:

The Narrator talks about his mother and war:

"She was a poor person, I was her poor child, and no one asks poor people if they want war. Nor had anyone asked these poor people if they wanted to die of thirst and exposure on the coastal sea, or if they wanted to be robbed and raped by their own soldiers. If those thousands still lived, they would not have believed how they had died, just as we could not believe that the Americans—our friends, our benefactors, our protectors—had spurned our request to send more money. And what would we have done with that money? Buy the ammunition, gas, and spare parts for the weapons, planes, and tanks the same Americans had bestowed on us for free. Having given us the needles, they now perversely no longer supplied the dope. (Nothing, the General muttered, is ever so expensive as what is offered for free.)

Discussion Questions:

1. What are your thoughts on this powerful quotation?

2. Was this symbolic of the theme of duality the author writes about in citing the Americans from the Vietnamese point of view as "the Americans—our friends, our benefactors, our protectors". What was the irony in all of this? What are other instances of the theme of duality being presented in the novel?

Billy Joel - Goodnight Saigon - Vietnam Tribute
Very powerful

Link:

Source: Youtube