The Committed (The Sympathizer, 2)

Like all sequels, this one lives in the shadow of its predecessor and suffers under weight of expectations benchmarked against the novelty of the original work. That said, ‘The Committed, is a fun and engaging book in its own right but pales when measured against “The Sympathizer.” The narrative style that was so fresh and engaging the first time around is brought back along with the expansion of the conflict between rival sides of the Vietnamese community. Had I read it without having read ‘The Sympathizer’ first, I might have thought better of it. Yet, having thoroughly enjoyed the ‘The Sympathizer’ I can only muster the beige equivalent of emotional and intellectual reaction to it. Some positive areas for ‘The Committed’ include the existentialist and geo-political questions and debates that could warrant a book of their own. Additionally, the comedic moments are amped up from the first book and the supporting cast of characters more diverse and flesh out the story well. The narrator’s internal monologue is Dostoevsky level criminal analysis and other times soap box droning. The real meat is in the obsessive commentary on symbolism and identity that makes the book worth reading. I wish Viet Thanh Nguyen had leaned more into that discussion with maybe even a new set of characters. Though, we may still get that, since there is a detail near the end that leaves a window for a sequel. To summarize, the book was just average and in some moments a bit forced. Viet Thanh Nguyen is masterful in his style and the craft. There were no shortcomings in the dialogue, plot, and characters. It was just missing that special something that would set it apart from its predecessor. Although, it may be that Nguyen is trying to recreate what Achebe did with the ‘African Trilogy’ but this time for the Asian Diaspora. If that happens then we can take another look at ‘The Committed’ as part of an epic crossing generations and geographies.