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A review by lucasmiller
Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien
5.0
I got bogged down in this book. It felt like, with less than a hundred pages left, I would never finish it. This doesn't reflect the quality of the writing, or the significance of the novel's project. Rather, it reflects the start of the school year and the reality of have a three month old in the house for the first time. Coming off of Ken Burn's The Vietnam War, which features Tim O'Brien in a few episodes, even reading the famous eponymous passage from "The Things They Carried," I experienced some Vietnam burn out. After pushing through to the end, I am convinced that this book contains some of the best writing about American Soldiers in Vietnam I have encountered.
I have now read all three of O'Brien's Vietnam book. His memoir, If I Die in a Combat Zone, the short story collecting, The Things They Carried, and the novel Going After Cacciato. I am struck by the similarities. The focus on the personal physical details, walking being the defining activity of American soldiers in Vietnam, and the helplessness of realizing to late what the war did to those who were in it. A must read for anyone interested in the Vietnam War.
I have now read all three of O'Brien's Vietnam book. His memoir, If I Die in a Combat Zone, the short story collecting, The Things They Carried, and the novel Going After Cacciato. I am struck by the similarities. The focus on the personal physical details, walking being the defining activity of American soldiers in Vietnam, and the helplessness of realizing to late what the war did to those who were in it. A must read for anyone interested in the Vietnam War.