Below is a summation of the members' reactions to this work.
While Tim O’Brien’s fictional book about the Vietnam War is not cheerful reading, the book group members agreed that this collection of stories provides insight into the experience of the men who served there. Discussion began with noting O’Brien’s use in the title story of a characteristic of epic poetry called the “epic catalog” (or long lists) reminiscent of Homer’s account of the Trojan War. Members explored one major theme concerning “story-truth” vs. “happening-truth” and why a writer might choose to present truth in the form of fiction. Members were asked to compare the form of O’Brien’s novel with Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge. When asked if they would choose story-truth or happening-truth to write about life in De Soto, they all immediately chose story-truth after agreeing that if they used happening-truth they would have to leave town. There was a short discussion on how the use of fiction frees a writer from self-censoring the story and, in the process, allows the writer to produce a bigger truth.
