Set during the Vietnam war, author Tim O'Brien created this work of fiction that mimics nonfiction, telling stories about the war centering around characters in one group of soldiers. This book has been hailed as "a marvel of storytelling" and "a book that matters not only to the reader interested in Vietnam, but to anyone interested in the craft of writing as well," by the New York Times. With his ground-breaking approach to story-telling he tackles the complex issues of memory, war, story-telling, and truth in this novel that became an instant classic.
Yes, I was forced to read this for school, but this experience has been by far the most pleasant assigned reading experience I've ever had. My English teacher, for the record, is literally the bomb. Like, literally. And he's so spectacular at teaching in fact that I signed up for a class that only he teaches for next year. So the way it worked was that we had three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) to read the novel, and then that Friday we had a discussion. We did this for two weeks, and read- you guessed it- the first half of the book the first week and the second half the next.
Side note/fair warning: This is going to be a longer review than normal. #sorrynotsorry
The style of this book is that each chapter focuses on a story, or on an idea. Some chapters, let me just say, would also work really well as stand-alone stories (i.e. short stories) and these are my favorites. Specifically "On The Rainy River", "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong", "Speaking of Courage", and "In the Field". So, as I think these are also really representative of the book as a whole, I thought we could focus on them and discuss those.
On The Rainy River
It actually turns out that I had read this specific chapter in a classroom before in eighth grade, which I realized during in class reading. The topic of this chapter is that Tim O'Brien (yes, the author is also a character of the book), gets his draft card and ran away to the Rainy River in Minnesota, which separates the US from Canada. This chapter follows the time that he spends there with an old man, who keeps silent for the most part but O'Brien makes it clear that the man knew exactly what was going on.
This chapter explores one of the main themes of the book, bravery and cowardice. The interest thing about this book is the way O'Brien treats this theme, especially in this chapter in which he says that going to war makes him a coward and that he wasn't brave enough to go to Canada. The effect on this decision that the old man has is great and fantastic, and if you don't read the rest of the book this is an excellent stand-alone chapter. The following is the last few lines of the chapter and some of my favorites of the book.
"The day was cloudy. I passed through towns with familiar names, through pine forests and down to the prairie, and then to Vietnam, where I was a soldier, and then home again. I survived, but it's not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war."
Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong
This chapter tells the story of one of Rat Kiley's friends over in the station he was at before moving onto the front. Rat Kiley, a man in character-O'Brien's group is a skilled storyteller and this chapter explores the notion of story telling as well as exploring the idea of femininity verses masculinity. In the story, one of the men in his medical site flew his girl over to Vietnam. The girl then becomes involved in the war, honestly curious of how all the war stuff worked. She went form a naive 17 year old to an unrecognizable woman-of-the-land. Read this chapter, read this chapter, read this chapter, well read this whole book, but read this chapter specifically. Because it was glorious.
Speaking of Courage
One of the darker chapters of this book, this chapter addresses PTSD by following Norman through a part of one of his days. The incredible way that this chapter addresses the mental parts of it are actually really incredible. As someone who has PTSD I think this is a really accurate chapter about what it feels like to have it. I love this book, I love this chapter, and I would recommend as well reading the next chapter, "Notes", which addresses the previous chapter.
In The Field
In the field absolutely broke me. This chapter I don't want to go into too much because I feel like where it is in the book is perfect and if you chose to read this book, I don't want to ruin the flow of the book.
* * *
Though the book doesn't follow any solid storyline, the stories themselves are connected together by themes and ideas that in the end tie the narrative together. To be honest, I didn't really notice any lack of a storyline until now. That being said, it's not like I could have stopped reading HAD I noticed, because it was a school assignment, and my reading sessions were so focused that I didn't notice.
This book, in short, is literally flawless. Anyone who's read the book however will say that I skipped a big part of the book, like the most important part, but I think that's best for anyone who choses to read it to discover on their own.
Rating: 5/5
Would I Recommend: YES!
To: Mature readers and anyone who likes books about war or spectacular writing.
If You Liked...
Into the Wild by John Krakauer
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
My Playlist for This Book:
Well I don't really have one-- suggestions?
Links:
Buy here through Amazon, here through Barnes and Nobel, or be a boss and Buy Independent!!! :)
See this book on Goodreads here and Shelfari here.
Read the NY Times review here.
Peace out friends :)
R
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