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A review by book_beat
July, July by Tim O'Brien
4.0
"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.