It wasn’t long ago that finding an Asian American novelist in a local bookstore felt like finding a rare flower. Today, the options overflow.

Viet Thanh Nguyen was on the leading edge of that wave. His first novel, The Sympathizer, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2016. Since then he has written a sequel, a collection of short stories, books for children,  and a book about the Vietnam War. He’s also become an important public intellectual, promoting the work of immigrant and minority writers, and advocating for Palestinian rights.

Today on Say More, editor Jim Dao is joined by Viet Thanh Nguyen for a discussion about his recent works and the role of the writer in times of political turmoil.