Clarity

by Tim O'Brien

The author of the American classic The Things They Carried returns with what may be his finest novel yet, an unconventional love story that unspools over decades and across continents between a Lutheran minister who has lost his faith and a young woman, brilliant and blazingly delinquent, fleeing a traumatic past.

Bought a horse. I’m riding her to South Dakota or Montana or Wyoming or Mars. You were good to me. But watch out for clarity. People who know all the answers are fucking fools.

The minister of Damascus Lutheran Church in St. Paul, MN, Tom Barrie—a former U.S. Army Chaplain Assistant who had deployed to Afghanistan in 2003—is wrestling with a crisis of faith. Ruby Stjern—a pregnant nineteen-year-old, alone in the world, who lives by her considerable wits—seeks Tom’s help in arranging for the unwanted child to be adopted.

When the baby is stillborn, Tom lies to Ruby, telling her the child survived. Tom is haunted by his lie, and becomes obsessed with finding Ruby, who has vanished into the underworld of street life, triggering an odyssey that marks their lives over decades to come.

Forever bonded, the two find freedom in their own ways—Tom through minor keys of commitment and duty; Ruby through her expansive expression of life. As epic as Going After Cacciato and as deeply philosophical as The Things They Carried, Clarity is a return to the grand themes and scope that make Tim O’Brien one of the great writers of our time.

Genres: Fiction

352 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication January 26, 2027

About the author

Tim O'Brien is an American novelist who served as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Much of his writing is about wartime Vietnam, and his work later in life often explores the postwar lives of its veterans.
O'Brien is perhaps best known for his book The Things They Carried (1990), a collection of linked semi-autobiographical stories inspired by his wartime experiences. In 2010, The New York Times described it as "a classic of contemporary war fiction." O'Brien wrote the war novel, Going After Cacciato (1978), which was awarded the National Book Award.
O'Brien taught creative writing, holding the endowed chair at the MFA program of Texas State University–San Marcos every other academic year from 2003 to 2012.

Reviews

[Tomasz]

No spoilers, so I'll just say - go read this one, it'll blow you away, and you'll love it. Be ready for serious body shots. And don't get too used to any of the protagonists, except the horses, maybe.

[vicki honeyman]

Much of the story is anything but clear, though as it delves deeper into the two principal characters, a picture of what occurred in their lives comes to light. Thus, the clarity of the title. From the author of the still highly praised book about Vietnam "The Things They Carried," Tim O'Brien's keen sense of human frailties shines in this bittersweet and unconventional love story.

[A.]

Thanks to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the egalley of Clarity.

In my reviews, I try to not divulge more of a novel's plot or story beyond the description that usually accompanies a book at the top of the Goodreads page. Most of the pleasure in reading a novel are the surprises or shocks one encounters along the way, or the sensation of being led by an author into deeper waters of meaning than one expected. Since the description of Clarity acknowledges the novel's "grand themes and scope" and its "philosophical" nature, it makes it easier to write this review.

The main relationship between Tom Barrie, minister with a faith-crisis, and Ruby, a pregnant teenager when she meets Tom, is the heart of the novel, and together they seem to bond in a way that suggests a union of soulmates (if one happens to believe in such things) despite their differences in age and circumstance. Their relationship encompasses love in all its human expression, but also in a form beyond human, a love at a spiritual level, love that is at its core redemptive.

Through this relationship, Tim O'Brien unfolds a rather remarkable story. There were definitely moments of surprise, moments of revelation that made me do almost a double take. When I first started reading the novel, I wasn't sure at all what sort of novel I was reading. There's an air of mystery to the first part of the book, which fits well with the title. As a reader, you're seeking clarity, you're seeking understanding. And O'Brien does very well at the pacing of the novel, the developing and revealing of the story, the characters growing more fully in the narrative. By the novel's conclusion, you feel like you've witnessed character's entire lives spool out before you.

The story of Tom and Ruby's relationship and its impact on others is well told, entertaining, and satisfyingly concluded. But what makes Clarity a weightier novel are the philosophical aspects of the story. I am not giving away much when I say the philosophical aspects have much to do with Tom's crisis of faith. In that respect, the philosophical aspects are actually more theological in nature. I enjoyed this aspect of the novel, the "grand themes" that color the book. The questions the novel poses add a depth to the story; they give a context and comparison for the fundamental act and question of the novel. From this philosophical questioning, there is a sense of empathy that develops towards the characters and their actions that pervades the novel, and, I feel, through the act of reading, to humanity in general.

[MundiNova]

"The whole point of clarity is that nothing's ever clear except to hypocrites and liars and morons."

This manic-pixie-dream-girl has a whole lot more going on than you ever thought. And she's armed.

I really loved this book. I'm still trying to dissect exactly what I loved about the writing that kept me pinned to the page. At times nothing happened, and then everything would happen at once. But somehow it all felt at the right pace. I could read page after page of Tom's boring life, then hop over to Ruby/Bobby/Roberta and feel like I'm riding a rollercoaster. O'Brien's writing is varied between all three (five?) characters so that each one is unique, and you can feel like you're really in a completely different person's head. Grace was all over the place, but kept moving forward. Tom was just as slow as he talked, taking his time to get anywhere. And Ruby? Well, just wait until you meet Ruby.

The story is interesting, but that's not why you'll like the book. The characters and their approaches to life will pull you in and keep you entertained. I highlighted many passages.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who liked French Braid or Marilynne Robinson.

I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Story: 4 stars
Character Development: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars

[Cole Schneider]

One of the best books I've read in a long time.

I won't touch on the plot or characters, the book description explains the basis well enough, and the characters are best met through jumping in and reading. If you've read a Tim O'Brien book before, this is among the best, go in blind and you'll be happy for it.

This book has some incredibly powerful writing, something that's hard for me to really articulate. Sometimes it's multiple pages, sometimes it's these short simple sentences, but they happen and it makes me stop and just stare at the page and sit with it for a bit, which is something I wish I experienced more when reading.

There's substance and weight here, while also being incredibly entertaining and fun. There's a few particular pages that feel like revisiting "How To Tell a True War Story" and the characters in this aptly titled book are perfect to be the ones to do it. Looking forward to buying a physical copy so I can revisit it down the road.

[David Jonescu]

Tim O’Brien has such a unique style of writing and this certainly is another hit for him. The narrative, the pacing and characters are all so unique that each chapter is so different. Such a fun (if you would describe this story as that) read.

I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Gary]

Ironic title, since almost everything in the book is ambigous in one way or another