yvonnetamme

I'd been meaning to read this book for quite some time but never gotten around to it. Then came my Vietnam class. Our source materials for the class are incredibly diverse but so far this has been the most powerful. We've spent a lot of time discussing the legality and morality of the Vietnam war - policy choices of the various Administrations, the anti-war movement, the obligations of citizenship - but this; the soldier's experience (or a set of soldier's experiences) made for a very emotional read. I appreciated the starkness of the descriptions, how matter of fact moments and emotions were described. The book did a lot of de-glamorizing war (of taking the Hollywood out and re-painting the picture in a much more personal and truthful manner). I also loved the short story aspect to it. Everything tied together and there was an over-arching timeline, but that certain moments were chosen - before, during and after O'Brien's involvement in the war - and then expanded upon was very effective. The deconstruction of certain moments and then re-visiting with more knowledge gave many moments more weight and I found each page to be incredibly powerful. The idea of having to tell a story to lift a weight and to continue to tell the story (or to strive to get it just right) due to how haunting it is to the soul was equally striking. Not only did it dig into the psyche and the experience of the men who fought in the war but it explored why we tell stories. The notion of happening-truth and story-truth, the power of both and the truth of both I also found to be very thought provoking. You can never quite tell what aspects of the book happened as described (or at all) but this never weakens the poignancy of the book but in fact seems to strengthen it. I do think it is important to note that no matter how descriptive and evocative passages were, it will forever be impossible to understand the emotions of each soldier completely. Simply because I was not there and did not experience it myself - the thoughts running through the head, the feel of the body, the weight of choice or the consequences - I will never be able to fully understand it. No one will. I think it's very important to try but that the war was such a strange combination of singularity and fraternity that ever understanding all of it is impossible. We can always step into another's shoes but we can also always step out. Those who lived it; however, will forever have the past embedded in their lives. In all: an essential book not only in understanding Vietnam but in grasping war and society today.

2022-10-21 05:19