Yong (3.5/26): Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien

Robert McNamara, one of the principal architects of the Vietnam War, passed away two weeks ago. That's why we've been seeing a resurgence of reflections on Vietnam lately, just as we've also seen lots of stories about the Apollo landings on this their 40th anniversary. The most memorable tidbit of news I can recall is a quote of post-mortem understanding and forgiveness of McNamara, even of his Gulf of Tonkin fabrications, by a Vietnamese counterpart from the opposite side. I mention all this because it is a lot more concrete than much of this book, despite all its critical acclaim for its representation of the war. Think Apocalypse Now, but less dark, more strange. It's hard to separate what's real and what's not until almost the very end of this story of a squad chasing after one of its own gone AWOL. If you're up for that sort of mindfark, then it's all very skillfully done. But I wasn't. There was still a lot I appreciate. But like war, I'm not sure it was worth it. (As if I know jack about war.)