The Sympathizer is recognized on Insider’s list of 101 books that defined the decade.
Thousands of books are released every year, but not every story has that magic formula that can change how people view a topic.
As the 2010s come to a close, Insider took a look back at the books that defined the decade.
Employees shared the books that made the most impact on them, from Pulitzer Prize-winning novels like “All The Light We Cannot See,” to moving collections of essays, such as Roxane Gay’s “Bad Feminist.”
The list also features a handful of blockbusters that broke records, including “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
These are the 101 books that defined the 2010s.
“The Sympathizer” by Viet Thanh Nguyen (2015)
Viet Thanh Nguyen tells “The Sympathizer” from the perspective of a double agent Vietnamese army captain who comes to America after the Fall of Saigon. Under the guise of starting over in Los Angeles, the narrator feeds information back to communist leaders in Vietnam.
His life, torn between two worlds, becomes all the more complicated as he makes new friendships and falls in love, highlighting the struggle between ideals and identity.
“The Sympathizer” won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
Read about the other decade-defining books at Insider.