Categories
1990s Short Story

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

The Things They Carried (Flamingo)

Five words from the blurb: Vietnam, war, healing, masterpiece, devastating

The Things They Carried is a modern classic. It has been described as “one of the war books of this century” and “essential fiction about Vietnam”. Before starting the book I knew little more than that, but on finishing it I can only agree. This is a very important book and I’m sure it will be read for generations to come.

The Things They Carried is a series of short stories about the Vietnam War. If I’d known that I wouldn’t have read it – I tend to get frustrated by short stories, longing for more character development and the complex plot of a longer novel. I experienced these problems with this book and that is why I haven’t rated it as highly as others, but I’m pleased I read it and if you enjoy short stories then you will really appreciate it.

The writing in this book is stunning. I especially loved the repetitive writing style of the first chapter:

They carried chess sets, basket balls, Vietnamese-English dictionaries, insignia of rank, Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts, plastic cards imprinted with the Code of Conduct. They carried diseases, among them malaria and dysentery. They carried lice and ring worm and leeches and paddy algae and various rots and molds. They carried the land itself – Vietnam, the place, the soil – a powdery orange-red dust that covered their boots and fatigues and faces. They carried the sky. The whole atmosphere, they carried it, the humidity, the monsoons, the stink of fungus and decay, all of it, they carried gravity.

The rest of the book highlighted individual events from the war, portraying shocking scenes with sensitivity and emotional power. Each situation was vividly described, but I longed for the events to be connected by a compelling narrative. Yes, some of the characters reappeared in subsequent chapters, but the narrative jumped forwards and backwards in time, giving it a disjointed feel that distanced me from the horrors. I wanted an emotional connection to the characters and to see their personalty change and develop with the increasing hardship of war.

The book provides a lot of thought provoking passages about the mental burden or war – how it really feels to kill someone and how it is possible (or not) for a soldier to return to their previous life after experiencing these horrors. There is also an impressive piece of writing about being conscripted for war.

There is a lot to admire in this book and I do think it is an extremely important piece of literature. I wish I could love it as much as I feel I should do.

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The thoughts of other bloggers:

One of the most moving, beautifully written books I’ve ever read.  Bookfoolery and Babble

Tim O’Brien’s writing in this is absolutely breathtaking.  He has the ability to put you right there in the middle of Vietnam with all the characters. The Betty and Boo Chronicles

It is beautifully written and eloquent in a way that few books about war are. Lit and Life

Categories
Booker Prize Other

Two Abandoned Bookers

The Teleportation Accident

The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman

Five words from the blurb: experimental, theatres, mysteries, cosmic, noir 

The Teleportation Accident is a bizarre book! It is so weird that I’m not sure I really know what it is about and that was my main problem with the book. So many different themes were covered: from 17th century inventors, through 1930s Germany, to Paris and Los Angeles. It also included science fiction, romance, sex, mystery and violence. I thought there was too much going on and struggled to see the connection between all the different aspects of the book.

The writing lacked subtly – everything seemed to bounce off the page and I became drained by the over-enthusiasm of it all. It often came across as pretentious and I’m afraid that lots of little things that were probably supposed to be amusing/clever just annoyed me (for example naming the central character’s girlfriend Adele Hitler).

Some of the descriptions were vivid, but some made no sense to me:

The problem was his legs, which were just beginning their slow transmutation into the elongated pine cones that can be found glued to the pelvis of anyone with Loeser’s desultory level of physical fitness who wakes up in the morning after a four-hour hike, and were therefore in no condition to perform a sudden vengeful charge.

I abandoned the book after about 80 pages, but skim read some other sections. Perhaps it all makes sense once you’ve finished the book, but I’m afraid the writing style was too bizarre for me.

DNF

Narcopolis

Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil

Five words from the blurb: Bombay, opium, poor, underworld, broken

Narcopolis is set in Bombay’s underworld. It is filled with a cast of characters who live in this world of drugs, prostitution and poverty. The writing is outstanding and the book is filled with quotable passages:

He enjoys flowers but he worships trees. He wants to be the banyan’s slave. He wants to think of time the way a tree does, a decade as nothing more than some slight addition to his girth.

It captured the atmosphere of the opium dens perfectly, but I struggled with the number of characters – there were so many that I couldn’t connect with any of them. The plot also seemed non-existent. It meandered from one beautifully rendered scene to another, but there was no hook to keep my attention.

The dream-like, hallucinogenic nature of the writing will appeal to many people, but I struggled to follow what was happening and became frustrated by the amount of information that was going over my head. I abandoned it after about 100 pages.

This book is deserving of its Booker longlisting and I’m sure that anyone willing to put in the effort to read (and re-read) this book will be rewarded, but I’m afraid I prefer books with a more compelling plot.

DNF

Have you read either of these books?

Did you enjoy them more than I did?

Categories
Other

A Day Out in London

It takes abut 30 minutes for me to travel into London on the train and I tend to go into the city once or twice a month, but yesterday was different from my normal trips so I thought I’d share it with you.

The Book Maze

Our first stop was the Southbank Centre where they have constructed a maze using 250,000 books. The maze isn’t particularly big or complicated, but my boys loved seeing the walls of books. Reading the ones on the top layer is encouraged and it was lovely to see so many people talking about books and recommending them to their friends. There were even shorter walls packed with books for children – if you’re in the area it is worth popping in for half an hour.

The book maze will be at the Southbank Centre until 25th August

 

The Lego Map

Outside the Southbank Centre they are building a lego map of the world. Children are encouraged to build a square and then place it amongst the others. Here are my boys finishing their square and then placing it with the others on the world map.

You can help to build the map between 12 and 4pm for the next few days and the completed map will be on display for a further 2 weeks.

The Olympic Park

We then braved the crowds at the Olympic Park. The atmosphere was amazing and I was really impressed with the organisation – there weren’t even queues to get on the trains. I have never seen London so clean and crowds of people so happy.

 

I hope that the excitement and happiness continues after the Games have finished.

London is a fantastic place to be at the moment!

 

Categories
1980s Historical Fiction

Restoration by Rose Tremain

Restoration (Sceptre 21's) Shortlisted for 1989 Booker Prize

Five words from the blurb: King Charles II, Court, love, mistresses, grace

Restoration is a special piece of historical fiction that manages to be entertaining whilst retaining plenty of period atmosphere. Set in 17th century England, the book follows Robert Merivel, a medical student, who finds himself inside the court of King Charles II. Merivel is desperate to find favour with the King and agrees to his demands, no matter how extreme they seem. This book is slow, but engaging and unlike a lot of historical fiction it does not focus on war or tragedy.

The book is written in a distinctive style, but is never difficult to understand. The tone remains light throughout and I frequently found myself smiling at the joyful enthusiasm of it all.

I shall not dwell upon the details of our journey, except to record that, as we came to Mile End and Will saw in the distance the tower and turrets of London, he grew most childishly excited thinking of the marvels he was about to witness for the first time, he having passed all thirty-nine years of his life in Norfolk.

The subject matter occasionally gets a little darker, but despite the appearance of the plague and the fire of London, the tone never becomes overbearing and quickly returns to its entertaining style.

There are a few brief descriptions of homes and personal belongings, but the book concentrates on Merivel’s relationships – showing the importance of loyalty and trust in the 17th century.

My only problem with the book was that the plot was slow and meandering. I was engaged throughout, but I prefer my books to have a little more pace and forward momentum.

Merivel is a fantastic character. I didn’t always like him, or agree with his choices, but I loved following his journey through life. The sequel, Merivel, is published in September and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens to him next.

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Have you read Restoration?

Are you looking forward to reading the sequel?