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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
My mom is a music historian and professor, and when I was little and I stayed home sick from school, I would sit in on the classes she taught. One of these times she was teaching Maurice Ravel’s Bolero, which has remained one of my favorite pieces of music. She said to her class that the Bolero was, the encapsulation of a single, sustained crescendo.
This book is essentially the encapsulation of a flashback. Tim O’Brien is always a lyrical and evocative writer, but he is uniquely able in this book to sustain the feeling of a flashback. I would make the argument also that a flashback is different than books that change timeframes throughout - O’Brien gives his sections in the past the feeling of being anchored to the present, and the cliched feeling of memories coming “rushing back.”
Of the Tim O’Brien books I’ve read this feels the least comfortable for him, as it’s (I think) less-trod territory (disclaimer that I’ve never read Tomcat in Love), and as such it’s a little uneven. All the characters feel well-defined and sharp in terms of personality and history, but the flashbacks of some are more nuanced and complex than others. (David’s war chapters and Billy’s draft dodging chapters are, perhaps obviously, some of the best.) However, this is a quibble born of knowing Tim O’Brien is an incredible writer whom I trust; with someone else this probably wouldn’t even register.
I wasn’t in college in the 70s, obviously, and I don’t think I’ll attend my college reunion (though you never know). I certainly didn’t have the overlapping entanglements with my circle of friends like the ones in this book. But I imagine if I did, attending a reunion after 31 years would feel an awful lot like this: formerly idealistic, unrealistic, naive kids who are exactly who you thought they’d turn out to be, and/or slightly disappointing - kind of like a predictable reunion, off kilter because of a year’s delay and ending mostly how it began - frustrating, unsatisfying, unchanged.
This book is essentially the encapsulation of a flashback. Tim O’Brien is always a lyrical and evocative writer, but he is uniquely able in this book to sustain the feeling of a flashback. I would make the argument also that a flashback is different than books that change timeframes throughout - O’Brien gives his sections in the past the feeling of being anchored to the present, and the cliched feeling of memories coming “rushing back.”
Of the Tim O’Brien books I’ve read this feels the least comfortable for him, as it’s (I think) less-trod territory (disclaimer that I’ve never read Tomcat in Love), and as such it’s a little uneven. All the characters feel well-defined and sharp in terms of personality and history, but the flashbacks of some are more nuanced and complex than others. (David’s war chapters and Billy’s draft dodging chapters are, perhaps obviously, some of the best.) However, this is a quibble born of knowing Tim O’Brien is an incredible writer whom I trust; with someone else this probably wouldn’t even register.
I wasn’t in college in the 70s, obviously, and I don’t think I’ll attend my college reunion (though you never know). I certainly didn’t have the overlapping entanglements with my circle of friends like the ones in this book. But I imagine if I did, attending a reunion after 31 years would feel an awful lot like this: formerly idealistic, unrealistic, naive kids who are exactly who you thought they’d turn out to be, and/or slightly disappointing - kind of like a predictable reunion, off kilter because of a year’s delay and ending mostly how it began - frustrating, unsatisfying, unchanged.
One of my favorite books by Tim O'Brien. This centers around a former high school class at their reunion and all the ways they've both changed and stayed the same, from the former radical who became an upper middle class housewife to the Vietnam veteran who hears a radio broadcast in his head. Haunting and tragic, this also has all the classic O'Brien elements of humor in chaos and is ultimately very human. Not one of his best, but it resonated with me.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
this book took me a while to read. I didn't understand some of the conversations, I understood for the most part but I'm so much younger than the characters and I think that got in the way. It was okay. I definitely liked The Things They Carried much more though. I also got a lot of the people confused. Sometimes I thought Dorothy Stier was Marla Dempsey. Other times I got confused between David Todd, Marv Bertel and Billy McMann. Maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention. I like the style of the book though, how it alternated between the 30 year (really 31 year) reunion of a college class and their lives back when they were in college or just before the reunion. It helped me get to know them better. I guess I just got mixed up with the names. Some of the characters I liked and others I could have done without. I wasn't particularly fond of Amy Robinson and Jan Huebner.
"HOPE COMES HARD" IN O'BRIEN'S "JULY, JULY"
Tim O'Brien's 2002 "July, July" highlights the dreams deferred of the Vietnam War era. The story centers on ten individuals attending their 30-year college reunion. It then breaks into short stories about each character and focuses on a flaw, a desire dashed, of this '60s generation.
These stories are dark. The 60's hang over the characters like a deep shadow; shadows of past ideologies... women's liberation, dreams of suburban home-life, a draft deserter, a war hero, etc. Unless you are willing to step back and analyze the text and the way this specific culture shaped America, I would advise against reading this book. It may appear a jumbled, detailed mess otherwise.
With ten different main characters, the need to hold each specific detail in hand isn't necessary. O'Brien evokes the feeling, the philosophy of the time, and deconstructs it. He shows the hold that these ideals had on people and how clinging to those ideals can be damaging. In the end the characters try to reach a messy catharsis by acknowledging and speaking their broken ideology, resulting in one of the most unique and intricate endings in literature.
David, the Vietnam vet, has a particularly gripping story. O'Brien pairs David's wounded war story with the news about the USA landing on the moon. He shows that while America was reaching for and obtaining its dreams, it was dabbling in darkness. All the while this dream gave hope, too. If one can reach the moon, what can't be accomplished? Thus the genius of O'Brien.
Tim O'Brien's 2002 "July, July" highlights the dreams deferred of the Vietnam War era. The story centers on ten individuals attending their 30-year college reunion. It then breaks into short stories about each character and focuses on a flaw, a desire dashed, of this '60s generation.
These stories are dark. The 60's hang over the characters like a deep shadow; shadows of past ideologies... women's liberation, dreams of suburban home-life, a draft deserter, a war hero, etc. Unless you are willing to step back and analyze the text and the way this specific culture shaped America, I would advise against reading this book. It may appear a jumbled, detailed mess otherwise.
With ten different main characters, the need to hold each specific detail in hand isn't necessary. O'Brien evokes the feeling, the philosophy of the time, and deconstructs it. He shows the hold that these ideals had on people and how clinging to those ideals can be damaging. In the end the characters try to reach a messy catharsis by acknowledging and speaking their broken ideology, resulting in one of the most unique and intricate endings in literature.
David, the Vietnam vet, has a particularly gripping story. O'Brien pairs David's wounded war story with the news about the USA landing on the moon. He shows that while America was reaching for and obtaining its dreams, it was dabbling in darkness. All the while this dream gave hope, too. If one can reach the moon, what can't be accomplished? Thus the genius of O'Brien.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes