The book is a collection of interrelated stories about a platoon in the Vietnam War, exploring themes of courage, fear, and the nature of truth. The stories are powerful and devastating, capturing the war's rhythms and dangers while delving into the psychological impact on the soldiers.
The Vintage Bradbury is a collection of stories that cohere around a single platoon's experiences in the Vietnam War. The stories are interrelated, with some focusing on wartime experiences and others on a writer remembering and writing about those experiences. The book is not a novel but a collection of tales that capture the war's pulsating rhythms and nerve-racking dangers. The stories are powerful and devastating, exploring themes of courage, fear, and the nature of truth. The author delves into the psychological impact of war on the soldiers, examining the common secret of cowardice and the embarrassment that drives men to kill and die. The book is a stunning performance that places it high on the list of best fiction about any war.
Quick quotes
The stories cohere. All deal with a single platoon, one of whose members is a character named Tim O'Brien.
If you don't care for obscenity, you don't care for the truth; if you don't care for the truth, watch how you vote.
These young men, Mr. O'Brien tells us, 'carried the soldier's greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing.