The summary of the novel is telling. It begins in 1975, in April, in Saigon. It is a novel about a man who is, as the title explains, the sympathizer with a country he leaves, seems to betray, and yet also defends, but not without conflict. As noted on the Pulitzer website:
Viet Thanh Nguyen's astonishing novel takes us inside the mind of this double agent, a man whose lofty ideals necessitate his betrayal of the people closest to him. A gripping spy novel, an astute exploration of extreme politics, and a moving love story, The Sympathizer explores a life between two worlds and examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today.But it is also more than its story. It's in the execution of the telling, how the narrative unfurls that makes this a compelling work of literature.