The Committed
by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Grove/Atlantic
March 2, 2021
In the eagerly awaited sequel to Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, THE SYMPATHIZER, the narrator of that novel, now called Vo Danh, and his blood brother, Bon, have settled in Paris after surviving a brutal Vietnamese "re-education" camp.
To get by, Vo Danh and Bon find employment with "The Boss," a ruthless drug dealer and the proprietor of the worst Chinese restaurant in Paris. Under the auspices of his "Aunt," Vo Danh is introduced to the expatriate demi-monde of Paris, among whom he finds eager customers for the Boss's product.
When they learn that "the faceless man" who tortured them in Vietnam is now in Paris, Bon is determined to kill him in revenge, but Vo Danh, who knows his identity, must save the life of this third of their trio of blood brothers.
THE COMMITTED is an amalgam of thrilling violence, suspense, and the author's wry wit and astute observations on racism, colonialism, and hypocrisy.
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Praise for The Committed:
“The novel draws its true enchantment – and its immense power – from
the propulsive, wide-ranging intelligence of our narrator… this tormented
double agent is back for another serving of ghostcolonial discontent in
Nguyen’s showstopper sequel.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“A voice that shakes the walls of the old literary comfort zone… May that
voice keep running like a purifying venom through the mainstream of our
self-regard—through the American dream of distancing ourselves from what
we continue to show ourselves to be.”
—The New Yorker
“It contains brilliant writing, perverse insights and Tarantino-esque action
sequences. Its wit is bitter; its pain is palpable.”
—The Seattle Times
"An exhilarating roller-coaster ride filled with violence, hidden identity, and
meditations on whether the colonized can ever be free...Nguyen continues to delight."
—Publisher’s Weekly, Starred Review
"The conflicted spy of Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Sympathizer returns,
embroiled in Paris’s criminal underworld . . . Nguyen is deft at balancing his hero’s
existential despair with the lurid glow of a crime saga. A quirky intellectual crime
story that highlights the Vietnam War’s complex legacy."
–Kirkus, Starred Review
"Undeniably erudite and culturally fluent as ever—interweaving history,
philosophy, political treatise, theology, even literary criticism—Nguyen
effortlessly enhances the story with snarky commentary, sly judgments, and
plenty of wink-wink-nod-nod posturing to entertain committed readers.”
—Booklist Magazine