Fiction

The Committed

The Committed

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-05-08 00:16:09
  • Update Date：2025-09-23
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Viet Thanh Nguyen
  • ISBN：0802157068
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Summary

The long-awaited new novel from one of America’s most highly regarded contemporary writers， The Committed follows the Sympathizer as he arrives in Paris as a refugee。 There he and his blood brother Bon try to escape their pasts and prepare for their futures by turning their hands to capitalism in one of its purest forms: drug dealing。 No longer in physical danger， but still inwardly tortured by his reeducation at the hands of his former best friend， and struggling to assimilate into a dominant culture， the Sympathizer is both charmed and disturbed by Paris。 As he falls in with a group of left-wing intellectuals and politicians who frequent dinner parties given by his French Vietnamese “aunt，” he finds not just stimulation for his mind but also customers for his merchandise―but the new life he is making has dangers he has not foreseen， from the oppression of the state， to the self-torture of addiction， to the seemingly unresolvable paradox of how he can reunite his two closest friends， men whose worldviews put them in absolute opposition。

Both literary thriller and brilliant novel of ideas， The Committed is a blistering portrayal of commitment and betrayal that will cement Viet Thanh Nguyen’s position in the firmament of American letters

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Reviews

Sara ，

I really love Nguyen's prose。 I really love Nguyen's prose。 。。。more

Yamini Nambiar ，

A sequel to The Sympathizer， The Committed is equally captivating and beautifully written， the plot crafted in such a way that each scene felt alive and the whole narrative together felt like a well divided action movie。 Highly recommend！

Jk105 ，

"The Committed" deals with interesting thematic issues that make for wonderful book club discussions。 However， it was a tedious chore slogging through each dull page。 "The Committed" deals with interesting thematic issues that make for wonderful book club discussions。 However， it was a tedious chore slogging through each dull page。 。。。more

Nancy ，

This is the most difficult book I've read this year。Before you read The Committed I recommend you read Keith's reviewHe hit the proverbial nail on the head。I agree with each point he made about this book。I expected the same experience as The Sympathizer。。。sadly Viet Thanh Nguyen has taken a new path in his writing。#Disappointed This is the most difficult book I've read this year。Before you read The Committed I recommend you read Keith's reviewHe hit the proverbial nail on the head。I agree with each point he made about this book。I expected the same experience as The Sympathizer。。。sadly Viet Thanh Nguyen has taken a new path in his writing。#Disappointed 。。。more

Scott Stelter ，

Wish I could read this and The Sympathizer in a class or something。 Constantly felt like I was missing or not getting something while read this and his previous book。 I did like this one better though

Barbara ，

Needlessly convoluted and so slow moving。 I just didn't care about the character or his situation。 Stuck with it a long time before giving up two thirds of the way through。 Needlessly convoluted and so slow moving。 I just didn't care about the character or his situation。 Stuck with it a long time before giving up two thirds of the way through。 。。。more

Kim ，

Another brilliantly written novel by this author。 A sequel to his first， the Pulitzer Prize winning， The Sympathizer。 This one has gone more gangster than spy/post-war novel but still has the same Catch-22 feel to it， even though the main characters have now moved to Paris。 Plenty of drug fuel musings and gang violence abounds as does the hypocrisy， irony and contradictory humour that was laced throughout the first book。Incredibly intelligent and highly recommended。 Another brilliantly written novel by this author。 A sequel to his first， the Pulitzer Prize winning， The Sympathizer。 This one has gone more gangster than spy/post-war novel but still has the same Catch-22 feel to it， even though the main characters have now moved to Paris。 Plenty of drug fuel musings and gang violence abounds as does the hypocrisy， irony and contradictory humour that was laced throughout the first book。Incredibly intelligent and highly recommended。 。。。more

Jessica Haider ，

The Committed is a sequel to The Sympathizer， which I haven't read， but has been on my TBR。 But， I was told that you can read The Committed without first reading The Sympathizer and I found that to be COMPLETELY TRUE！ Now I am going to go back and read everything by Viet Thanh Nguyen。 The Committed stars the same protagonist as The Sympathizer， a Vietnamese man who has survived the Re-education camps during the Vietnam War ， worked as a spy， escaped to America and now， in this book， relocates to The Committed is a sequel to The Sympathizer， which I haven't read， but has been on my TBR。 But， I was told that you can read The Committed without first reading The Sympathizer and I found that to be COMPLETELY TRUE！ Now I am going to go back and read everything by Viet Thanh Nguyen。 The Committed stars the same protagonist as The Sympathizer， a Vietnamese man who has survived the Re-education camps during the Vietnam War ， worked as a spy， escaped to America and now， in this book， relocates to Paris， France。 It's the 1970's and our un-named protagonist starts working for a crime boss who runs a Chinese restaurant as a front for his criminal activities。 In the seedy underbelly of Paris， immigrants from former French colonies such as Vietnam and Algeria make their lives。 There's sex & drugs， guns & action。 But at the same time there's plenty of pondering about France's colonization of Vietnam and America's involvement in the war。 There is also a lot of clever contemplation about race and identity。 It's a high action， philosophical， literary read。 Two thumbs up。 Thank you to the publisher for the review copy！ 。。。more

Vijay Krishnamoorthy ，

A sequel to the sympathizer with the protagonist now trying to live in Paris。 Still some seating philosophy and great language but it felt a a bit long and forced to me。 Definitely exposed orientalism and the difference between French and American colonization

Rayroy ，

Truley a book that begs to be read more the once。 A diamond in the ruff of semi-autobrograpichal fiction。 As much a spy and crime novel as it is a dissertation of critical theroires。 A tale of the male bound。 A work out for your mind with some junk food puns for your soul。

Dahlgren General Library ，

DA100000031201

Jessica Beth ，

This novel is the sequel to The Sympathizer， which was a novel I found quite enjoyable and witty。 This book has the same writing style， but suffers from a serious lack of any interesting plot。 Whereas in The Sympathizer， the main character meets others， has relationships， and travels --- in this book， nothing much happens。 Our hero is in France dealing drugs with his best friend/blood brother Bon and spends most of the book feeling badly about all the events of the first book。 He's haunted by th This novel is the sequel to The Sympathizer， which was a novel I found quite enjoyable and witty。 This book has the same writing style， but suffers from a serious lack of any interesting plot。 Whereas in The Sympathizer， the main character meets others， has relationships， and travels --- in this book， nothing much happens。 Our hero is in France dealing drugs with his best friend/blood brother Bon and spends most of the book feeling badly about all the events of the first book。 He's haunted by the ghosts of the characters he killed in the first book。 The story does build to a climax， but the path to reach it was tedious and it involved too much torture。 Unfortunately， this is a sequel that doesn't live up to the original， no matter how witty the prose。 。。。more

Lauren ，

"You can’t dodge a bullet with your name on it。"▪️THE COMMITTED by Viet Thanh Nguyen， 2021。:: A thriller of ideas ::If you are familiar with Nguyen's Pultizer-Prize winning 2016 THE SYMPATHIZER， rest assured that THE COMMITTED is a continuing chapter in the life of the "Sympathizer" or "Man of Two Faces / Two Minds"， in spirit， politics， and theme。Picking up right after the （harrowing） events of Book 1， the scene shifts from Los Angeles to Paris - not the tourist boulevards or fancy arrondisseme "You can’t dodge a bullet with your name on it。"▪️THE COMMITTED by Viet Thanh Nguyen， 2021。:: A thriller of ideas ::If you are familiar with Nguyen's Pultizer-Prize winning 2016 THE SYMPATHIZER， rest assured that THE COMMITTED is a continuing chapter in the life of the "Sympathizer" or "Man of Two Faces / Two Minds"， in spirit， politics， and theme。Picking up right after the （harrowing） events of Book 1， the scene shifts from Los Angeles to Paris - not the tourist boulevards or fancy arrondissements， but the 1970s back alleys & red-light districts， inhabited by many former French colonized groups - mostly Vietnamese and Algerians featured here - who are trying to make it in Paris。It's noir， gritty， violent， and oh-so- literary。 Lots of existentialism intersecting with post-colonial / critical theory name dropping - Frantz Fanon gets the majority of mentions。 （24 in the text by my ebook count！） 🗨️ In a great little piece， the "Sympathizer" has a conversation about Fanon and Aimé Césaire with a bouncer at the Paris brothel that becomes a main backdrop in the novel。Sartre， Camus， Thomas Adorno， Horkheimer， Antonio Gramsci， Julia Kristeva。。。 Of course， if you have no idea who these people are， good chance you'll still enjoy the book even without a 20th-century philosophy background。。。 （Full disclosure - I didn't know who everyone was， but ❤️ the intellectual acrobatics on display here - took lots of notes！）After reading THE COMMITTED in April， I attended 2 online book your events with Nguyen。 The 1st， with Leila Lalami hosted by the Los Angeles Library Association - Nguyen noted that in this book， he wanted to "pull the plug on the City of Light" and show this dark side of the glamour city。。。 And in this way， this book was an "interrogation of [his] own colonized mind"。 The 2nd book stop was with THE NATION publication moderators about post/colonial literature + the rise of violence against Asian communities。 He also discussed the role of Vietnam as an imperial power in Southeast Asia over Cambodia and Laos， violating neutrality， subjugating the Hmong， etc。 and the way the War is considered in Vietnam。 He spoke of the the complicity of colonization specifically resulting to Pacific Islanders， and the disingenuous nature of Asian American Pacific Islander （AAPI） heritage commemorations that mention nothing of Pacific Islander groups， further subjugating history， memory， and geography。 Other topics: the importance of terminology in "refugee" and "immigrant"， scapegoating and deflecting ownership， violence against Asian perpetuated by war （after war。。。after war） including a seeming genesis of Cold War between US and China。 A range of topics， securing Nguyen's role as one of the US's public intellectuals， and his dual role of scholar AND award-winning novelist。 。。。and in both author talks， he said he's at work on Part 3 of the "Sympathizer trilogy"。。。 No title， no hints， but he's working on it。 That definitely made me smile！ 。。。more

BooksRgood ，

Funny， angry， return of our protagonist now in Paris underworld dealing with himself （and others）; （briefly） critiquing systems of government as trying （mostly） to stay alive。。

Sandra Fish ，

Wow。 From the hilarious sentence early on about Coca-Cola "the addictive， teeth-decaying sweetness of a capitalism that was no good for you no matter how it fizzled on the tongue" to the philosophy-laden two-page single sentence toward the end， the writing is wonderful。 And the cultural conflict/questions reflect what's happening today。 Wow。 From the hilarious sentence early on about Coca-Cola "the addictive， teeth-decaying sweetness of a capitalism that was no good for you no matter how it fizzled on the tongue" to the philosophy-laden two-page single sentence toward the end， the writing is wonderful。 And the cultural conflict/questions reflect what's happening today。 。。。more

Carol ，

Set in a time after the events of and including many of the same characters as The Sympathizer （but standing alone）， The Committed is an intense （and often humorous） exploration of the complexities of politics emanating from the colonial experience of Vietnam。 While the action of the novel is located in France， the book addresses experiences in Vietnam and the US as well。 The political education comes largely from the thoughts and words of the main character， "a man of two faces and two minds。" Set in a time after the events of and including many of the same characters as The Sympathizer （but standing alone）， The Committed is an intense （and often humorous） exploration of the complexities of politics emanating from the colonial experience of Vietnam。 While the action of the novel is located in France， the book addresses experiences in Vietnam and the US as well。 The political education comes largely from the thoughts and words of the main character， "a man of two faces and two minds。" That duality is a brilliant base for articulating conflicting ideas and internal conflict。 The action that does take place is sometimes hard to follow， narrated as it is through those "two minds，" but the focus isn't so much on that action as it is on the complex circumstances （political and personal） that led to the present。 The book merits a slow read to enjoy the musings and one-liners， and invites a second read （I wish I'd written down or marked some of them）。 I was less interested in the plot lines related to the activities of the characters as a violent and criminal syndicate （and that is most of the action in the present）， but ultimately viewed that as background to the psychological story and study。 This seems an important book for understanding the history and present for at least a segment of the Vietnamese emigrant population。 。。。more

Taina ，

Kirjailijan edellinen romaani Sympathizer oli minusta hyvä， tämä jää valitettavasti keskinkertaiseksi。 Edellisestä kirjasta tuttu puoliksi vietnamilainen ja puoliksi ranskalainen kommunistivakooja saapuu 1980-luvun Pariisiin ja alkaa huumediileriksi。 Niin terävän viiltävää ja raivokasta kolonialismi- ja kapitalismikritiikkiä， että ai että！ Lisäksi kidutusta， väkivaltaa ja muuta piinaavaa。 Turhan paljon pyörittiin kuitenkin päähenkilön hajonneessa sielunmaisemassa ja filosofoinneissa， sivuja olis Kirjailijan edellinen romaani Sympathizer oli minusta hyvä， tämä jää valitettavasti keskinkertaiseksi。 Edellisestä kirjasta tuttu puoliksi vietnamilainen ja puoliksi ranskalainen kommunistivakooja saapuu 1980-luvun Pariisiin ja alkaa huumediileriksi。 Niin terävän viiltävää ja raivokasta kolonialismi- ja kapitalismikritiikkiä， että ai että！ Lisäksi kidutusta， väkivaltaa ja muuta piinaavaa。 Turhan paljon pyörittiin kuitenkin päähenkilön hajonneessa sielunmaisemassa ja filosofoinneissa， sivuja olisi voinut olla vähemmän。 Jotain elokuvamaista tässä oli。 。。。more

DaN McKee ，

It’s easy to “know” a writer has done something incredible like win a Pulitzer Prize as an abstract fact rattling around in your head - but reading Viet Than Nguyen’s work always makes that abstract manifest in the beauty and thought of his words。 As with previous book in this two-part story， The Sympathiser， The Committed is a work of art。 A story both hilarious and tragic， philosophical and visceral， it is a perfect reminder in this times， where the call for decolonising so many things is gett It’s easy to “know” a writer has done something incredible like win a Pulitzer Prize as an abstract fact rattling around in your head - but reading Viet Than Nguyen’s work always makes that abstract manifest in the beauty and thought of his words。 As with previous book in this two-part story， The Sympathiser， The Committed is a work of art。 A story both hilarious and tragic， philosophical and visceral， it is a perfect reminder in this times， where the call for decolonising so many things is getting louder， just how important such work is， and also how important it is to remember the legacy and impact of colonialism while doing so。 The Sympathiser was a work I thought would never be topped， and The Committed had a very high bar set for it by its predecessor。 I am happy to say that bar was met and The Sympathiser equalled。 One of the best writers I have ever read。 。。。more

Rob ，

The follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Sympathizer，” Viet Thanh Nguyen’s “The Committed” follows the man of two minds as he arrives in Paris in the early 1980s with his blood brother Bon。 The pair try to overcome their pasts and ensure their futures by engaging in capitalism in one of its purest forms: drug dealing。 “The Committed” is a furious and exhilarating sequel to “The Sympathizer，” part gangster-thriller， part searing cultural analysis of the post-colonial predicament “seen thr The follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Sympathizer，” Viet Thanh Nguyen’s “The Committed” follows the man of two minds as he arrives in Paris in the early 1980s with his blood brother Bon。 The pair try to overcome their pasts and ensure their futures by engaging in capitalism in one of its purest forms: drug dealing。 “The Committed” is a furious and exhilarating sequel to “The Sympathizer，” part gangster-thriller， part searing cultural analysis of the post-colonial predicament “seen through the eyes of a Vietnamese-French mixed race bastard double agent。” It should be nominated for another Pulitzer， an excellent 5-star read。 。。。more

Reese ，

DNF at page 124 - sorry， I’m not interested in reading a thesis about communism and colonialism。

Kallison Leahy ，

Better than the first！

Will ，

4。5

Micebyliz ，

I could not put this down。 This happened with The Sympathizer too。 Help！！ i want to savor these books and what happens？ i read non-stop。 They're full of material to absorb--my fave is the comparison of the Mayflower and the boat people--and to laugh out loud！ too numerous to mention， a lot of gallows humor actually， and why is that funny？ i have no idea but it is。 I just love this stuff。 I hope he writes and writes and writes。 I can't quite figure out what is is that is so magical about these bo I could not put this down。 This happened with The Sympathizer too。 Help！！ i want to savor these books and what happens？ i read non-stop。 They're full of material to absorb--my fave is the comparison of the Mayflower and the boat people--and to laugh out loud！ too numerous to mention， a lot of gallows humor actually， and why is that funny？ i have no idea but it is。 I just love this stuff。 I hope he writes and writes and writes。 I can't quite figure out what is is that is so magical about these books but i am all in。 more more！！！！！ 。。。more

Camille McCarthy ，

I don't have enough good things to say about this book。 At first I was skeptical and wondered why Viet Thanh Nguyen wrote a sequel to "the Sympathizer，" which stands so well on its own， but this book was also a masterpiece in its own right。 Nguyen focuses his razor-sharp wit on eviscerating French colonialism in this book just as he did to American capitalism in the previous one。 This one has a lot more references to anti-imperialist works， such as Franz Fanon's "the Wretched of the Earth，" and I don't have enough good things to say about this book。 At first I was skeptical and wondered why Viet Thanh Nguyen wrote a sequel to "the Sympathizer，" which stands so well on its own， but this book was also a masterpiece in its own right。 Nguyen focuses his razor-sharp wit on eviscerating French colonialism in this book just as he did to American capitalism in the previous one。 This one has a lot more references to anti-imperialist works， such as Franz Fanon's "the Wretched of the Earth，" and he brings in a lot of Algerian characters and discussions about Algerian colonization which really give an added dimension to the book。 I also liked how he focused a bit more on sexism in this book， and had a few very striking female characters。 Altogether I adored this book。 It was so witty and made me laugh， but it was also very serious， and one of the few books I've read that looks at the question of revolutions， socialism and communism in a nuanced way。 I wish we had seen more of the anarchist lawyer because I really enjoyed that character。 There were so many sentences I just wanted to print up and hang on the wall because they were absolute perfection - such sublime wordplay， alliteration， clever metaphors， and twisted quotations。 I'd recommend reading "the Sympathizer" first but he does a great job of incorporating the plot of the previous book into this one in case people haven't read the first one or have forgotten what happened in it。 I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks of themselves as a revolutionary。 It is excellent from an artistic point of view and a political one。 。。。more

Sana Dinalang ，

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Laura England ，

A brilliant sequel to The Sympathizer。 I was captivated from page 1 and was so impressed by how Nguyen communicates the shattered mind of “the man with two minds。” The inclusion of the historical image and event was a fascinating inclusion。

Irene ，

The story is completeA brilliant writer takes me inside a culture and a different time。 The Vietnamese were invisible in a war torn country for decades。 This was followed by becoming invisible in the very countries that previously occupied Vietnam。 A sorrow filled and emotional passage in and out of PTSD。 Amazing second book。

Jason ，

I stopped reading this after 75 pages。 I had to go through my book reviews and figure out how many of them i’d given a one star review to （4 out of 667）。 There were some books I didn’t review cause I couldn’t finish but this one felt different。 The Author’s previous novel， The Sympathizer， was amazing， deserving of the hype and praise that was lavished upon it， certainly deserving of the awards it won。 This one felt like a rough draft had been turned in to an editor and instead of ever looking a I stopped reading this after 75 pages。 I had to go through my book reviews and figure out how many of them i’d given a one star review to （4 out of 667）。 There were some books I didn’t review cause I couldn’t finish but this one felt different。 The Author’s previous novel， The Sympathizer， was amazing， deserving of the hype and praise that was lavished upon it， certainly deserving of the awards it won。 This one felt like a rough draft had been turned in to an editor and instead of ever looking at it， it somehow made it to print。 Maybe I missed the genius in there somewhere but really， I’m only writing this review because of how shockingly disappointing the juxtaposition between the two novels is。 Ultimately though， there are many things that someone could claim that this was trying to be， but apparently， one of them was not interesting。 。。。more

Robert ，

For those who’d enjoyed ‘The Sympathizer’， Nguyen’s debut of 2015 in which he pulled off the perfect literary political thriller， there was a lot of pent up enthusiasm for his new novel。 That his first book had been a brilliant take on that highly emotional subject， the Vietnam War， but written not from the perspective of a traumatized American soldier， but rather a Vietnamese/French communist mole in the entourage of an exiled South Vietnamese army general， ensured that it would receive particu For those who’d enjoyed ‘The Sympathizer’， Nguyen’s debut of 2015 in which he pulled off the perfect literary political thriller， there was a lot of pent up enthusiasm for his new novel。 That his first book had been a brilliant take on that highly emotional subject， the Vietnam War， but written not from the perspective of a traumatized American soldier， but rather a Vietnamese/French communist mole in the entourage of an exiled South Vietnamese army general， ensured that it would receive particular attention。While nothing could quite compare to the opening of The Sympathizer where the nameless hero and his blood brother， Bon， escape from Saigon in the last moments of the Vietnam war during which Bon’s wife and child are killed by a random bullet， Nguyen makes a valiant effort。 We join a band of refugees on a boat heading out into the ocean in the hope of rescue and future asylum， with our duo among them。 They have successfully escaped from the brutality of the re-education camp to reach Indonesia and end up on a flight to Paris。 Bon has sworn to kill all Communists （not realizing that his blood brother is a communist agent） and in particular Man， the faceless commissar of the camp。After being met at the airport by the hero’s ‘aunt’ we are rapidly introduced to the two strands that will propel the book。 The first being the drug dealing and sex business run by the Boss， who they’d met in the camp， which aims to deliver thrilling scenes of lust and violence。 The second being lengthy exchanges between characters about Colonialism， Marxism， Capitalism， Identity， Racism， Sexism and Religious Extremism with frequent reference to Césaire， Fanon， Sartre， de Beauvoir， Cixous， Derrida， Adorno， Gramsci and others。No sooner have the two refugees reported to the Boss with their Kopi luwak （a luxury coffee that passes through the digestive system of the civet cat）， which proves to be a disguise for a Class A drug， than our nameless hero’s intention is revealed: “Besides， the French and the Vietnamese shared a love for melancholy and philosophy that the manically optimistic Americans could never understand。 The typical American preferred the canned version of philosophy found in how-to manuals， but the average Frenchman and Vietnamese cherished a love of knowledge。’Nguyen: “These are novels of ideas and politics， and history， and theory， and so on， but there are also spy and crime novels。 And I think that you can do all of these things simultaneously。 I look for inspiration to the French who like to read philosophy…and detective novels。 And these are totally compatible。 And that’s part of the spirit of these two books。”The two strands brush up against each other but never quite connect as in the case of the character known as ‘the eschatological muscle’ who， as the black bouncer at the Boss’s brothel known as Heaven， is found watching a talk show about existentialism。t“ ‘Sartre， he’s okay， the muscle said。 I prefer Fanon and Césaire。’t‘Me， too， I said。’t‘The muscle continued watching the debate about Sartre， but his mention of Fanon and Césaire sent me back to the last time that I encountered them， at Occidental College， where I had spent six years studying for my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in American studies。 My mentor Professor Hammer…’”This brief exchange gives an idea of the territory of the book: the philosophizing is going to be demanding and it is not going to be integral to the story。Nguyen: “Americans are still hung up about the Vietnam War。 And indeed much of the world only thinks of Vietnam through the Vietnam War。 That’s fine。 So I made my down payment with The Sympathizer， but the intention was always to situate my experiences and the experiences of Vietnamese refugees and the Vietnam War in a much larger context for me， which is the unfolding of American power， of French colonialism。”Coming on the back of his brilliantly synthesized earlier novel The Committed might feel to many like a family’s favourite dish deconstructed。 It won’t be served as your Mum always made it， but rather in a way that demands quite some effort to enjoy。 Unfortunately， in this case， the drug dealing， honey trap strand came across as a very sweet， over-iced cake， which fell apart on contact with the spoon， while the intellectual elements were the brussel sprouts， which could be palatable， but not interspersed with this particular cake。Nguyen: “My attitude towards contemporary American fiction is that a lot of it is geared towards easy reading。”Nguyen throws everything at this enterprise。 There are some powerful and humorous aperçus ‘Colonizaton is pedophilia。 The paternal country rapes and molests its unfortunate pupils， all in the holy and hypocritical name of the civilizing mission。’ And he finds the streets of Paris ‘narrower than the average French mind’。 There is an extraordinarily moving memory of a return to his village and the love of his mother and a half page outburst to his ex-colonizers of ‘Fuck you！ Thank you！’ in ever-decreasing print。 He also resorts to graphics， huge capitalizations， words patterned on the page and， for the great denouement between our hero， Bon and Man， he switches out of prose and into screenplay mode。Nyguyen: “And unfortunately， as an adult I’ve learned many， many rules。 And in writing The Committed， one of the things I did was simply just to do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted to do it。 And it was quite freeing。”Whereas The Sympathizer was the perfect synthesis between thriller and political novel achieved through an innate emotional connection with its subject， The Committed fails to bridge the gap between fiction and thesis。 While， as Nguyen says， the experience was freeing for him， to this reader it delivered an inert intellectualization of his polemic packed with a weak mortar of dissociated sex and violence。 There will be another novel to make up the trilogy。 。。。more

Hazel ，

What a book。 The word play。 The idea play。 The skewering of the French。 The skewering of idealogues。 A fitting sequel to The Sympathizer。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Committed

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Committed&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Committed&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0