I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces. Perhaps not surprisingly, I am also a man of two minds.
-- Narrator (chapter 1 paragraph 1)

Importance: These are the opening lines of the novel. They indicate the dual nature of the narrator, which drives the action of the story. He is a communist spy acting as an officer under the General, to whom he has been assigned by his handler. His orders are to spy on the General and report back activities that relate to the General's army trying to regain control of Vietnam. However, the narrator genuinely likes the General and his family and must carry out orders the General issues as well as those he receives from his handler. In addition, as a communist, the narrator is supposed to despise American and European influences, yet he is conflicted. He is half Vietnamese and half French. As a result he isn't...