YouTube Channel: Associated Press
The 2016 Pulitzer Prize Winners were recently announced at the annual literary event. The Pulitzer Prize, of course, celebrates excellence in journalism, drama, music and literary writing. From published letters and memoirs to full-length novels, this is the prize most journalists and writers aspire to receive.
While there were over thirty categories, with winners, it was the Fiction category that really turned heads. This category was won by Viet Thanh Nguyen for this captivating and compelling story, The Sympathizer. This amazing story revolves around the conflict of a communist sympathizer during the Vietnam War.
The story takes us to the heart of war torn Saigon, where a South Vietnamese Army General is planning to leave the country forever. With him will be a number of compatriots, including a so-called trusted Captain. The Captain, however, is secretly a spy for the pro-communist guerrillas known as the Viet Cong. This is the backdrop of this incredible story, which truly captures the allure and essence of this war and America’s policy of containment at the time.
No, we do not want to give away any more spoilers for those that are anxiously waiting to read the novel. Just know that the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction was well deserved – and that Nguyen is already outlining a new novel that will be sure to be another big seller. Nguyen was born in Vietnam and raised in America. His literary works have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Narrative, TriQuarterly, and Best New American Voices.
Nguyen currently teaches English and American studies at the University of Southern California.
Featured image via ABC 7
