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Tim O’Brien is a Vietnam veteran who writes autobiographical accounts of his experiences in the war. These stories range from philosophical to downright depressing and nothing incompasses this more than this book. Being autobiographical, the story is told from the point of view of O’Brien himself. This structure was probably one of the stronger parts of the book.
The way O’Brien bounces back from his quiet, monotonous home life to getting drafted and sent off to bootcamp in the early parts of the book to showcasing how war can go from quiet and boring to overwhelming and deadly to the later parts shows perfectly the thought process and general atmosphere of a warzone. Especially one like the jungles of Vietnam. "With a hangover and with fear, it is difficult to put a helmet on your head."(134)
O’Brien goes through the entire process of getting drafted, boot camp, going to Vietnam, and what exactly went down. Throughout that time, we meet a whole cast of characters, some friends, some regular people, and a lot of bad, unlikeable people. There's a boorish, rude drill sergeant who O’Brien despises, and multiple grunt, dull men that he has for squadmates. This is where one of the flaws of the book shines, in my opinion. O’Brien seems to lack perspective of any kind, reducing soldiers down to bad people, idiots, average joes or a person O’Brien can get along with it. “Courage is nothing to laugh at, not if it is proper courage and exercised by men who know what they do is proper. Proper courage is wise courage. It's acting wisely, acting wisely when fear would have a man act otherwise. It is the endurance of the soul in spite of fear - wisely.” (104)
However, O’Brien still remains to be a likeable character to be put in the point of view in. He is likeable, idealistic and eventually goes through his own arc that changes him, and we get to feel and understand all of it, It’s almost like we’re growing through O’Brien, like we are in his boots. This is one of the best parts of the book in my opinion. "It's sad when you learn you're not much of a hero." (119)
The same structure remains consistent throughout. It goes through different important events in a usually non-linear pattern. It cuts back between different ‘missions’ and the time spent between said missions. It’s structure like this that emphasises the dull, but frighteningly erratic behavior of a life during wartime. It’s structure like this that really makes this book a unique war book in my opinion. "Do dreams offer lessons? Do nightmares have themes, do we awaken and analyze them and live our lives and advise others as a result? Can the foot soldier teach anything important about war, merely for having been there? I think not. He can tell war stories.” (182)
I think if it was a more dry, standard retelling of an account in Vietnam, this would not of been as good and unique. The way O’Brien shows off the war in a very opinionated and ‘boots-on-the-ground’ kind of way really makes it.
In conclusion, I think If I Die In a Combat Zone is a must-read for any fans of wartime books, such as All Quiet on The Western Front, or We Were Soldiers Once… and Young. His treatment of certain characters might get irritating, but that’s just one of the few flaws in this intense, but genuine war drama.
The way O’Brien bounces back from his quiet, monotonous home life to getting drafted and sent off to bootcamp in the early parts of the book to showcasing how war can go from quiet and boring to overwhelming and deadly to the later parts shows perfectly the thought process and general atmosphere of a warzone. Especially one like the jungles of Vietnam. "With a hangover and with fear, it is difficult to put a helmet on your head."(134)
O’Brien goes through the entire process of getting drafted, boot camp, going to Vietnam, and what exactly went down. Throughout that time, we meet a whole cast of characters, some friends, some regular people, and a lot of bad, unlikeable people. There's a boorish, rude drill sergeant who O’Brien despises, and multiple grunt, dull men that he has for squadmates. This is where one of the flaws of the book shines, in my opinion. O’Brien seems to lack perspective of any kind, reducing soldiers down to bad people, idiots, average joes or a person O’Brien can get along with it. “Courage is nothing to laugh at, not if it is proper courage and exercised by men who know what they do is proper. Proper courage is wise courage. It's acting wisely, acting wisely when fear would have a man act otherwise. It is the endurance of the soul in spite of fear - wisely.” (104)
However, O’Brien still remains to be a likeable character to be put in the point of view in. He is likeable, idealistic and eventually goes through his own arc that changes him, and we get to feel and understand all of it, It’s almost like we’re growing through O’Brien, like we are in his boots. This is one of the best parts of the book in my opinion. "It's sad when you learn you're not much of a hero." (119)
The same structure remains consistent throughout. It goes through different important events in a usually non-linear pattern. It cuts back between different ‘missions’ and the time spent between said missions. It’s structure like this that emphasises the dull, but frighteningly erratic behavior of a life during wartime. It’s structure like this that really makes this book a unique war book in my opinion. "Do dreams offer lessons? Do nightmares have themes, do we awaken and analyze them and live our lives and advise others as a result? Can the foot soldier teach anything important about war, merely for having been there? I think not. He can tell war stories.” (182)
I think if it was a more dry, standard retelling of an account in Vietnam, this would not of been as good and unique. The way O’Brien shows off the war in a very opinionated and ‘boots-on-the-ground’ kind of way really makes it.
In conclusion, I think If I Die In a Combat Zone is a must-read for any fans of wartime books, such as All Quiet on The Western Front, or We Were Soldiers Once… and Young. His treatment of certain characters might get irritating, but that’s just one of the few flaws in this intense, but genuine war drama.
