Late Night Live: Vietnam and the Memory of War
Vietnamese American Viet Thanh Nguyen discusses his debut novel , The Sympathizer, a spy thriller about politics and wartime memories with ABC’s Late Night Live host, Andrew West. Listen to the full episode on Radio National or read the transcript below. Viet Thanh Nguyen was born in Vietnam and fled as a refugee in April of […]
Anger in the Asian American Novel: An Interview with Viet Thanh Nguyen
Paul Tran sits down with Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of the bestselling novel The Sympathizer. In this interview from The Margins, Tran and Nguyen talk about reshaping histories of the Vietnam War and finding humanity in the inhuman. The Vietnam War ended 40 years ago. A new regime rose from the battlefields. Families like mine […]
For Readers, Writing Is a Process of ‘Emotional Osmosis’
The author Viet Thanh Nguyen discusses how his novel The Sympathizer is the product of decades of enjoying other works. This article was originally published by Joe Fassler for The Atlantic. In 2011—long before his debut, The Sympathizer, was published—Viet Thanh Nguyen was struggling with his book. It wasn’t until he stumbled across The Land at […]
A Different Kind of War Novel – Talking to Viet Thanh Nguyen, Author of “The Sympathizer”
Viet Thanh Nguyen speaks with Chris Schluep of the Amazon Book Review on his novel The Sympathizer. One of our favorite books so far this year is Viet Thanh Nguyen’s debut novel The Sympathizer, a book with one of the best first sentences of any you will come across (more on that later). T.C. […]
Escaping the Vietnam War, But Getting Close to the Enemy
Viet Thanh Nguyen talks with Leonard Lopate of New York Public Radio about his debut novel, The Sympathizer, which examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today. In April of 1975, a South Vietnamese general draws up a list of those who will be given passage aboard the last […]
Looking at the Vietnam War’s Aftermath through the Eyes of a Communist Spy
Viet Thanh Nguyen is interviewed by Monica Campbell on Public Radio International. This article is based on the radio show, which you can listen to through the audio player below. “I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces,” reads the opening line of the “The Sympathizer.” The man who says […]
An Act of Justice: An Interview with Viet Thanh Nguyen
Valerie Cabrera of the Writers’ Block Blog interviews Viet Thanh Nguyen on writing his book, The Sympathizer. On this day exactly 40 years ago, the Fall of Saigon unfolded before the eyes of the world. Even today, the surrounding events continue to divide public and political opinion. Alongside this year’s anniversary, author Viet Thanh Nguyen’s debut […]
On the Lost Art of the Comic War Novel with Novelist David Abrams
David Abrams, the author of Fobbit (Black Cat, 2012), a satirical novel of the Iraq War, talks with Viet Thanh Nguyen, the author of The Sympathizer (Grove Press, 2015), a debut novel set after the end of the Vietnam War. They discuss humor, unreliable narrators, and telling a war story from another side. This article […]
The Heat Discusses the Vietnam War
Author and Professor Viet Thanh Nguyen is interviewed by Anand Naidoo on CCTV America. This show originally aired on April 29, 2015. Watch the full interview below. THE HEAT DISCUSSES THE VIETNAM WAR It’s been 40 years since the fall of Saigon and the official end of the Vietnam War. But for many Vietnamese, the […]
Between the Covers – Viet Thanh Nguyen: The Sympathizer
Viet Thanh Nguyen is interviewed by David Naimon, host of Between the Covers on KBOO 90.7 FM Portland, OR. Click here to listen to the full interview, or read the transcript below. It is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a general of the South Vietnamese army is drinking whiskey and, […]
5 Questions with Viet Thanh Nguyen
Viet Thanh Nguyen is interviewed by Chris Carosi of City Lights Bookstore. City Lights: If you’ve been to City Lights before, what’s your memory of the visit? Viet Thanh Nguyen: The first time I visited City Lights was around 1996, when I was a graduate student at Berkeley. I was on a date with a […]
“The Sympathizer” Offers Fresh Look at Vietnam War
Viet Thanh Nguyen is interviewed by Madeleine Brand, host of Press Play on KCRW-LA. Click here to listen to the full interview on KCRW. Or read the full transcript below. Madeline Brand: This is Press Play. I’m Madeline Brand. Forty years ago marked the definitive end to the Vietnam War. The Americans evacuated and on April […]
Voices from Vietnam
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s first novel explores the Vietnam War through the lens of his conflicted protagonist, an American-educated spy for the Viet Cong. Here, he is interviewed by Susan Bell from USC Dornsife College News. is April 1975, and Saigon is in chaos. At his villa, a South Vietnamese army general is drinking whiskey and, with […]
A Dark, Funny—and Vietnamese—Look at the War
NPR’s Arun Rath interviews Viet Thanh Nguyen for the radio show, All Things Considered. Click here to listen to the audio version of this interview, or read the full transcript below. VIET THANH NGUYEN: (Reading) I’m a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces. Perhaps not surprisingly, I’m also a man of […]
Interview with Viet Thanh Nguyen, Author of The Sympathizer
Evelyn Ch’ien interviews Viet Thanh Nguyen on his debut novel, The Sympathizer. This interview was originally published in Hyphen Magazine. Sitting in a café at San Francisco International Airport between flights (mine to Paris, his from LA), Viet Nguyen and I had a conversation about his debut novel The Sympathizer. Nguyen is Associate Professor […]
