New favorite author

Tim O'Brien is my new favorite author! Rarely, I find readings/books that keep me engaged, where I find it hard to set the book down. There have been some readings in this class, where I forced myself to read and didn't retain much from it. This book definitely hit the spot. It had a bit of romance, drama, and suspense.

I must have to agree with Alan for some of parts of his blog post about how there was no sense in direction. When I first started reading it, it was in a romantic zone, all cutesy talking about making a bus filled with kids, even if they are in the 40s. Then when chapter two came, it had some snippets of interviews taken regarding Kathy Wade's disappearance. That's when the suspense started building up to me. It made me put down the book for a few seconds and ask myself, did I read the first chapter correctly? Then once chapter two was over, it went to John Wade's father passing away. I felt that this book was going to tell multiple stories throughout the book and then somehow tie in all together.

Through the book, I learned that lovers, husbands, and wives have qualities beyond what our eyes can see. John and Kathy were in a marriage so obscure that their secrets lead to an emotional downfall. This book made you think between the different scenes being told. From Kathy talking about the future, to the massacre in Vietnam to Kathy's disappearance. Along with the past John had hidden from the public and the downfall of his election for US Senate of Minnesota. O’Brien uses John Wade as a vehicle to assert that secrets and lies of the incident need not be covered up and America should be “big enough” to handle the truth of the horrors there. He is described as a politician who lost in a landslide after secrets of his past in Vietnam were revealed to the public. His obsessive behavior, due to his war experience and emotional trauma, caused Kathy to distance herself from him.

I liked how O'Brien used interviews and evidence throughout the novel. It gave a sense of a documentary being watch, such as Hearts and Minds. I personally enjoyed and loved his format of this novel. I think the chapters, in the way they were ordered, engaged me more into the plot. O'Brien uses many rhetorical strategies to keep us engaged throughout the novel. Such as the way he flashes back to the Vietnam War and then forward to what is currently happening. The evidence provided were very effective to keep the reader engaged.