How does the presence of ghosts change the reading experience? What do the ghosts of the book represent to the characters? Are the readers meant to take the existence of spirits literally? Provide examples of how other characters are connected to the dead. Sonny and the crapulent major are haunting the narrator and make several appearances in the novel.

Discuss the aunt and her left-wing friend's significance in the story? Examine the aunt's power over the narrator.Why do you think Bon opens up to Loan and tells her the truth about who he is? What is the importance of Bon? Analyze the effects that Bon's father's death, and then later that of his wife and son, have on who he becomes.Did the author provide you with another perspective? Why? How so? How is the book like other novels you have read about war and the experiences of refugees, and how is it different? Share how much you knew about the displacement of the Vietnamese people before reading the novel. The Committed offers an unflinching analysis of the aftermath of colonial conquest and the turmoil of the Vietnam war.The narrator is prone to bouts of weeping and refers to himself as 'we.' Does this duality, and existential despair, make him an unreliable narrator? Explain your answers.How does the tone of the prologue set the stage for the rest of the novel? Discuss how the characters carry this early experience throughout the story. The Committed begins with several refugees stranded at sea praying for rescue.Which characters in the novel show commitment? Consider whether Nguyen answers the question 'committed to what?' Discuss the relevance of the title, The Committed.The novel opens with a quote from Rithy Panh, 'Nothing's more real than nothing.' Discuss how this belief shapes the characters.

The committed viet