Viet Thanh Nguyen, "The Sympathizer"

Nguyen's first novel starts with the 1975 collapse of Saigon and follows a group of upper-echelon Vietnamese on one of the last helicopter flights out. The General, his family, and the Captain, who narrates this account, wind up in California. While the General opens a liquor store and then a restaurant, the Captain maintains a vigorous second life as a spy, reporting to the Communists back home. Sometimes humorous, often angry, this explosive narrative investigates questions of divided loyalties, exploring what it means when the personal and the political clash.

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