First published 2021
The Sympathizer steps off a plane in Paris, a refugee carrying the scars of reeducation camps and betrayal. He and his blood brother Bon need money and purpose in this foreign city. They choose drug dealing as their path into French capitalism. The Sympathizer finds himself torn between two worlds. At dinner parties hosted by his French Vietnamese aunt, he mingles with left-wing intellectuals and politicians who become both his social circle and his customer base. His mind craves their stimulating conversations even as he sells them narcotics. The reeducation he suffered at his former best friend's hands still torments him internally. Paris both enchants and unsettles him as he struggles to fit into its dominant culture. His new life brings unexpected threats from state surveillance, personal addiction, and an impossible dilemma. He must somehow reconcile Bon with their mutual friend, two men whose opposing beliefs make unity seem impossible. The Sympathizer discovers that even in safety, commitment and betrayal follow him across continents.
Genres: fiction, addiction, crime, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: dark, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: France, Paris
Period: 21st Century
345 pages · Hardcover · Grove Press
Content warnings: addiction, drug-use, violence