"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Friday Quotes, Sept. 8th THE SYMPATHIZER

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City ReaderShare the opening quote from the book.
The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's VoiceFind a quote from page 56.

Check out the links for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Participants don't select their favorite, coolest, or most intellectual books, they just use the one they are currently reading. This is the book I'm reading right now---



Title: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Book Beginnings:
"I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces. Perhaps not surprisingly, I am also a man of two minds."
Friday 56:
"So it was that we soaped ourselves in sadness and we rinsed ourselves with hope, and for all that we believed almost every rumor we heard, almost all of us refused to believe that our nation was dead." 
Comments: the writing in this book is spectacular, simply spectacular. The subject, a sleeper spy for North Vietnam in South Vietnam, isn't a topic I long to read about but the writing is so good I can recommend it even before I am finished with the book, with one caveat---I am listening to the audiobook. I know that format bothers some people but I understand the print edition is difficult to read because of the long paragraphs and dense writing style. Those issues are not problems in the audio version. The quote for Friday 56 I pulled from Goodreads. Since I do not have a copy of the print edition I couldn't turn to page 56 and the sample of the book on Amazon only goes to page 14 or something similar. The Sympathizer won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this year and I know why. WOW.

21 comments:

  1. The prose is beautiful....and this one sounds like a story that will haunt the reader. Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the words and the story line really are haunting.

      Delete
  2. I agree with Laurel-Rain, lovely writing. Thanks for sharing. My Friday Book is The Muse, which is also beautifully written.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I underlined so many lines in the book. It was great in that way. The Page 56 quote is excellent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I read your review of the book just as I was starting it. I was thrilled you liked it so much since several of my book club friends didn't like it.

      Delete
  4. This isn't one I would have normally picked up. However, it sounds pretty interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This sounds excellent - I may be listening to this one on audio, too!

    Check out my Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings).

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sounds so fascinating!! Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your snippets are lyrical -- I'm intrigued. Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you have a nice weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  8. "Soaped ourselves in sadness and rinsed ourselves with hope". Wow. Just, wow. I'd love for you and your readers to check out mine... http://preview.tinyurl.com/LisaKsBookReviewsMPC

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thought this one rings a bell! I've listed the Pulitzer prize winners I still want to read and this one is most definitely there. Love that 56! Great selection. Hope your weekend will be good! Here's my Friday Meets: http://marelithalkink.blogspot.co.za/2016/09/friday-meets-09-september-2011.html

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the imagery in your 56 excerpt. Although this isn't a book I would normally pick up, it sounds like one I'd enjoy.
    My Friday post features CHESTNUT STREET.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Replies
    1. I have yet to be disappointed with a Pulitzer Prize winner. This one is way up there on well written books.

      Delete
  12. Sounds good. I love the image in the 56. This week I am spotlighting Project Elfhome by Wen Spencer - a linked short story collection. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  13. The excerpts stand out as well written. This book sounds like a gem.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lovely writing but I'd probably not read it. Perhaps listening to it, like you are, would work.

    My Friday 56 from Doggone It

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lovely and powerful excerpt. Glad to hear this one was a winner.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hard read, but I enjoyed the black humor and how much I learned about Vietnam. The book version would have driven you crazy. (no quotation marks whatsoever)

    ReplyDelete

I look forward to your comments and interactions! Join in the conversation.