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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Easily the best thing I've read
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I can't say that I hated this book. I think he did a really good job of immersing me into the wartime setting. I know the whole thing about this book is exploring metafiction buutttt likeeee it was way too ambiguous for me. The entire middle section of the book had me like
I quite liked the ending though, I had no idea how he was going to wrap things up but I think he did a really good job of tying loose ends.
I quite liked the ending though, I had no idea how he was going to wrap things up but I think he did a really good job of tying loose ends.
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a beautifully written, heartbreaking book and I never want to read it again!
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Stellar writing. Not the book I expected. It had focus around the war and O'Brien's experiences but the war served as a contemplation piece for the truth in stories, death, why literature exists, and some other neat ideas. Well crafted book, only focuses on "the things they carried" for a chapter, it reads as a collection of stories and thoughts put together. Common theme was what banded them together and his decision to go into the draft; cowardice. Great shame and lack of bravery to be a person of conscience because he didn't believe in the war but didn't want to shame his family/community/country. Really made me wonder if I would flee to Canada (probably not). Another big theme was the truth in stories and does it really matter if it "happened-truth" or if it just made the reader feel something and resonated. Fascinating ideas of seeming contrast - what makes a "true" story. Wonderful stuff. Some passages that stuck out:
"They carried their reputations. They carried the soldier's greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment." p. 20
"That's what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you cant remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story."p. 36
"If Rat told you for example, that he'd slept with four girls one night, you could figure it was about a girl and a half. It wasn't a question of deceit. Just the opposite: he wanted to heat up the truth, to make it burn so hot that you would feel exactly what he felt." p. 85
"Absolute occurrence is irrelevant. A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth." p. 80
"They carried their reputations. They carried the soldier's greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died, because they were embarrassed not to. It was what had brought them to the war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor, just to avoid the blush of dishonor. They died so as not to die of embarrassment." p. 20
"That's what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you cant remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story."p. 36
"If Rat told you for example, that he'd slept with four girls one night, you could figure it was about a girl and a half. It wasn't a question of deceit. Just the opposite: he wanted to heat up the truth, to make it burn so hot that you would feel exactly what he felt." p. 85
"Absolute occurrence is irrelevant. A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth." p. 80