Cover of The Sympathizer

The Sympathizer

Viet Thanh Nguyen, 2015

American novelist, born 1971. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2016.

The Sympathizer is a 2015 novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2016.

Acclaimed
  • Critics' Darling
  • Prize Winner

In thrillers and spy fiction

On 2 of the 14 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Viet Thanh Nguyen
First published
2015
Length
384 pages (UK paperback)
Awards
Genre
Thrillers and spy fiction, War and conflict, Political, Migration and identity

Is The Sympathizer worth reading?

2 of the 14 best-of lists it could have made include it: the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times).

ListPlaceOriginal
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (winners and finalists) (Columbia University, 2016)WinnerSee the list
The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times, 2024)No. 90See the list

Best edition of The Sympathizer

The edition we link to is the Corsair paperback (2016), 384 pages.

Publisher
Corsair (paperback, 2016)
Pages
384
ISBN
9781472151360

How critics, prizes and readers rate The Sympathizer

Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 25% of the points available on prize lists, against 18% on critics' lists and 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
18%
Prizes
25%
Readers and booksellers
0%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like The Sympathizer

If you liked The Sympathizer, try Wolf Hall, Midnight's Children or Beloved.

Lists used on this page