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snowlessknitter's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
_ottavia_'s review against another edition
2.0
Da che ho memoria l'elemento del realismo magico non mi è mai piaciuto. Pecco sicuramente di troppo pragmatismo e quando mi capita il libro sbagliato sotto mano finisco con l'annoiarmi molto in fretta. Il che, in questo caso particolare, è un gran peccato perchè Tim O'Brien è un autore di cui, dopo aver letto il magnifico The Things They Carried, leggerei quasi tutto. Questo breve libro, però, è certamente tenuto in gran considerazione da molti lettori, ma proprio non fa per me.
colemanwarnerwriter's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
freezerbridesweetdivine's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
defenderofnothing's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
frankieatthedisco's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mkiyxxmi's review against another edition
5.0
tim o’brien has done it again
this novel is about a soldier and the imagination he lives with every day, aching for a peace he can never truly have while being stuck in a war (/ on a deserter’s journey) he doesn’t want to fight
a thought-provoking look into war and the affects it has on the mind and experiences
this novel is about a soldier and the imagination he lives with every day, aching for a peace he can never truly have while being stuck in a war (/ on a deserter’s journey) he doesn’t want to fight
a thought-provoking look into war and the affects it has on the mind and experiences
lizaroo71's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book O'Brien released and the last one for me to read (I still have his memoir to tackle also).
The Caccicato in the title is a character that is only on the periphery of the story. Our real protagonist is Paul Berlin. He is a PFC in the same platoon as Cacciato - who way day deserts his post. The men are then torn as to whether or not they will go after him. They decide to pursue him.
And then we enter the world of O'Brien in which things may not be what they seem. All along I knew there had to be more to this back story and once I got to the ending, I was just floored. I love O'Brien's writing: the simplicity of his sentences and word choice when dealing with complicated moral topics.
This did not disappoint. I am so glad I finally got around to reading it.
The Caccicato in the title is a character that is only on the periphery of the story. Our real protagonist is Paul Berlin. He is a PFC in the same platoon as Cacciato - who way day deserts his post. The men are then torn as to whether or not they will go after him. They decide to pursue him.
And then we enter the world of O'Brien in which things may not be what they seem. All along I knew there had to be more to this back story and once I got to the ending, I was just floored. I love O'Brien's writing: the simplicity of his sentences and word choice when dealing with complicated moral topics.
This did not disappoint. I am so glad I finally got around to reading it.
briandice's review against another edition
5.0
In the whole of human history, I am of the extremely small percentage of males that did not fight in a war nor had my life changed as a result of one. I am extremely fortunate to have been twice lucky: born both where and born when. So whether it is a truth-seeking need to understand the sadness that countless men and women have had to endure, or it is some atavistic genetic tugging that keeps leading me back to these stories, I am addicted to the threnody of War.
Although I will read almost any non-fiction book on war that is recommended to me, it is fiction based upon events that really resonates. If you've read Vonnegut, you can chart his growth as an author through his first few books as he is circling around the main event - until he finally deals with his experience in the fire bombing of Dresden. Slaughterhouse-Five is a book that changes the reader because Kurt was changed by war. It's not a rational transaction. But neither is life.
Going After Cacciato is a book that has the capacity to re-wire the filters of a reader. The Vietnam War is the setting, but the individual wars suffered and fought daily by the soldiers is the narrative. The action follows a squad of men and their quixotic chase after a fellow soldier gone AWOL with plans to hoof it all the way to Paris from Indochina. As readers we become as changed as the soldiers on their journey. To explain further would be to ruin the magic - consider this great quote on the back cover of my edition, taken from a New York Times review: "To call Going After Cacciato a novel about war is like calling Moby-Dick a novel about whales."
Virgil C. Dice, Jr. Ready for action.
My father was 26 years old when he was drafted to serve in Vietnam. He had just graduated with a masters in music and had planned on a career as a concert pianist. He and my mother planned on getting married as soon as he finished his graduate program - he petitioned his Congressman to change his enlistment date so they could keep to their plans. Dad never shared much about his experiences, but he did tell me that his deferment saved his life - the base where he was stationed was overrun a month prior to his arrival. In 1997 I made a trip to visit the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. I saw families and friends of fallen soldiers search for their beloved on the wall, watched them make a keep-sake of that name with a scrap of paper and rubbed charcoal. I took a picture of the book of names to note the fortune of the skip from Robert Floyd Dice to Anthony Dicesare.
Several years ago for my father's birthday I wrote him a short story. It was a fictional piece loosely based on what few things he told me about his war experience. I wasn't surprised when I asked him his opinion of the story that his response was, "There sure was a lot of swearing in there." I understand his deflection - I can't imagine how awful it must be for those people that have suffered from war to revisit it to create art. It makes what Tim O'Brien has done with this novel - and others like him throughout the ages - that much more amazing.
Final note: after finishing this book I called my father to ask him why, when he returned from the war, he didn't go back to his music career (he became an accountant). He said that after that much time away from practicing and focusing on his craft he would never be able to catch-up. He had a young wife and a family to think about. I'll always wonder now how different things would have been for him. He was blessed to escape from Vietnam without suffering casualty, but has the world suffered from not hearing his beautiful piano playing?
Although I will read almost any non-fiction book on war that is recommended to me, it is fiction based upon events that really resonates. If you've read Vonnegut, you can chart his growth as an author through his first few books as he is circling around the main event - until he finally deals with his experience in the fire bombing of Dresden. Slaughterhouse-Five is a book that changes the reader because Kurt was changed by war. It's not a rational transaction. But neither is life.
Going After Cacciato is a book that has the capacity to re-wire the filters of a reader. The Vietnam War is the setting, but the individual wars suffered and fought daily by the soldiers is the narrative. The action follows a squad of men and their quixotic chase after a fellow soldier gone AWOL with plans to hoof it all the way to Paris from Indochina. As readers we become as changed as the soldiers on their journey. To explain further would be to ruin the magic - consider this great quote on the back cover of my edition, taken from a New York Times review: "To call Going After Cacciato a novel about war is like calling Moby-Dick a novel about whales."
Virgil C. Dice, Jr. Ready for action.
My father was 26 years old when he was drafted to serve in Vietnam. He had just graduated with a masters in music and had planned on a career as a concert pianist. He and my mother planned on getting married as soon as he finished his graduate program - he petitioned his Congressman to change his enlistment date so they could keep to their plans. Dad never shared much about his experiences, but he did tell me that his deferment saved his life - the base where he was stationed was overrun a month prior to his arrival. In 1997 I made a trip to visit the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. I saw families and friends of fallen soldiers search for their beloved on the wall, watched them make a keep-sake of that name with a scrap of paper and rubbed charcoal. I took a picture of the book of names to note the fortune of the skip from Robert Floyd Dice to Anthony Dicesare.
Several years ago for my father's birthday I wrote him a short story. It was a fictional piece loosely based on what few things he told me about his war experience. I wasn't surprised when I asked him his opinion of the story that his response was, "There sure was a lot of swearing in there." I understand his deflection - I can't imagine how awful it must be for those people that have suffered from war to revisit it to create art. It makes what Tim O'Brien has done with this novel - and others like him throughout the ages - that much more amazing.
Final note: after finishing this book I called my father to ask him why, when he returned from the war, he didn't go back to his music career (he became an accountant). He said that after that much time away from practicing and focusing on his craft he would never be able to catch-up. He had a young wife and a family to think about. I'll always wonder now how different things would have been for him. He was blessed to escape from Vietnam without suffering casualty, but has the world suffered from not hearing his beautiful piano playing?