The Things They Carried

I just finished reading a fictional book called The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. I felt a deep satisfaction after reading this book because it is not a typical book that I would go for- it's about soldiers, war, killing, etc. Despite the somber tone of the book, it was nice to go out of my usual routine. I chose to read it mostly because the juniors at my high school are required to read it as a part of their American literature class, and it is paired nicely with the US History curriculum that I teach. You see, The Things They Carried is all about Vietnam.
This book is a collection of many short stories based on the author's life experiences while serving in Vietnam. Although the book is considered fiction, the reader is fully aware of the reality of the book- it had to be based on the author's life. The book is mostly a cathartic cleansing of the author's conscience realties and, perhaps, guilt of the war. O'Brien is honest about the madness, his feelings, and his life today. I appreciate the author's honesty in this book the most...his honesty about the emotional effects of the Vietnam War show that his feelings are still raw thirty to forty years after the events.

Beyond the honesty, O'Brien's writing is very different. Each chapter is a different story, but they flow together. Some chapters explain the author's perspective before and during the war in a first or third person narrative. Then, there are a few chapters that are written with the author's present voice. The jumping back and forth could have been distracting and chaotic. But, the manner in which O'Brien is able to piece the book together actually enhances the reader's overall impression of what it is like to be a surviving soldier of Vietnam. There are many themes that jump around through out these chapters. The biggest theme is death- the death of a friend, platoon member, and the Vietnamese. O'Brien continuously looks at death showing how it was valued or devalued, taken seriously or not seriously, thought about or avoided.

I remember a technique I learned in a college creative writing course- a writer should always stick to a story that one knows a lot about. Obviously, O'Brien does this. However, O'Brien adds one more piece- he wrote the book for himself. There may be a chapter he wrote for his platoon members or for his daughter. But, the bottom line is that he did not write it for money, he did not write it for fame...he did not write it to win a Pulitzer prize (for which he was a finalist for). He wrote the book mainly to lift the weight off his chest and be honest with what happened in his life- he wrote it to make sense of an event in his life that he really had very little choice to partake in.

Hey book clubbers!  I have been remiss in my blogging.  But, I have been trying to keep up with reading something.  Right now I am reading "Momma Might be Better Off Dead."  It is the story of one Chicago family living in poverty and their interaction with the healthcare system.  So far, I have learned about SSI (supplemental security income), Medicare and Medicaid regulations, and end-stage renal disease/dialysis.  The only problem is that the book was written in 1993, so it's pretty much history at this point, although I think a lot of the policies are still in place and the main themes are pretty much the same...  Needless to say, this is not an uplifting book, so to speak, but it is really well written (basically it's like reading a novel written in the third person), and it is based in Chicago.  Anyway, I'll add it to my list of good books about the healthcare system.

I also found on my shelves a book I bought at a used bookstore many years ago called "Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston.  It's pretty much a memoir.  I'm not sure why I didn't read it when I bought it (there's a lot of fantastical story telling in it about her being a warrior, that's probably why) but I was looking at it the other day and plan to read it when I'm done with the above.

I know I'm totally out of sync with the book club now, but maybe as someone suggested we could all read different books and then review them for each other (especially during the summer when we're all on different schedules).  Eventually we'll all get around to reading the ones that sound good to us.  I am going to borrow "Unaccustomed Earth" from you Jeanne, and maybe I'll read that before "Woman Warrior."

OK, that's it for now.  

Happy Anniversary! Three Books of Love

It's Joshua and Jeanne's 3rd Anniversary today!
In honor of our day of matrimony, I'm dedicating this blog to three books that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside or make me yearn for love. Actually, now that I think about it, all three books have an element of unrequited love or a love that cannot materialize due to circumstances.

1) The Time Traveler's Wife: It's set in Chicago from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. What can you not love about that? As the title suggests, there is a little bit of time traveling involved (don't take it literally...just enjoy the story). While reading this book, I imagined the author's storyboard being a bunch of different colored post-it notes all over her house. This author seriously had to be able to keep things very, very organized to pull this book off.

2) History of Love: It just made my heart ache. The writing is stylized, different. It's much in the same vain as Jonathan Safran Foer- probably because Foer and Krauss are husband and wife. It's a book of love that goes through generations and countries. Really, any story involving an old love through time just gets to me.

3) Unaccustomed Earth: Just finished this one. It's typically Jhumpa Lahiri- meaning that the writing is BEAUTIFUL. Even though it is a series of short stories, the stories actually flow with one another. The book impacted me even as I finished it and just laid in bed trying to sleep. I kept thinking about it...and still do. The kind of books that make you think after you close the cover are the kinds I love.

So, there you go. Three books of love that make my heart ache.

Books for the Summer

Hi Ladies!
While proctoring finals, I've been surfing the web for summer book lists. I came upon this on NPR's site. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90589316

I love going to the bookstore and looking at potential books to read. Now, my summer book list has increased to 11 books to read because I was recommended to read a book by my school, The World is Flat 3.0: A Brief History of the 21st Century.

Anyway, I hope to be finished with Unaccustomed Earth soon. I highly recommend it so far!