Loved this! A twisty-turny spy thriller about a Vietnamese double agent that also explores the American immigration experience. Also, reading the gruesomely graphic torture scene at the end of the book whilst sitting in a peaceful public park admiring the sunset on a mild spring evening is one of my favourite incongruous reading memories! ( )

I really, really did not enjoy this book. Frankly, I think I only finished it as some kind of act of defiance. It’s a mildly interesting story, populated mostly by characters that I couldn’t care less about, written in a plodding style that makes every minute of reading feel like ten. To make matters worse, it’s stuffed full of long pseudo-politico-philosophical passages, where the only question I could grapple with was the meta-question of whether this was supposed to be a serious exploration, or some kind of postmodern, ironically self-aware, tongue-in-cheek critique of political philosophy itself. I suspect it was actually supposed to be something at a meta-level one or two steps further removed from even those layers. And let me be perfectly clear: I could not possibly care one iota less. Like the protagonist himself, there were long periods of time where all I wanted was a pistol to put me out of my misery. But I finished it, if only so I could say with some credibility: You should not do the same. ( )

79

Great book---narrator will make you laugh, fast paced. Recommend you read while drinking 🍷 ( )

This novel is about a Vietnamese spy, spying for the Viet Kong. When Saigon falls he is evacuated to Los Angeles and begins a new life…sort of. Eventually he is confronted with extreme difficulties that cause him to question everything and evaluate his life. I did not care for the guy: he’s fairly boring yet full of himself. The novel meanders until the last hundred pages when things get super intense and weirdly fever dreamlike. I was hoping for a cool spy novel reveal but was disappointed. I think this book is overhyped just because it’s unique. ( )