What do you think?
Rate this book
The Names of the Dead
In Ithaca, New York, in 1982, Larry Markham awakes to discover his wife, Vicki, has taken their young son, Scott, and left him--not for the first time, possibly for the last. It is a deep blow to a life already in fragments: a dead-end job delivering Wonder Bread; a strained relationship with his aging father, a veteran of World War Two; and weekly visits to the VA hospital where Larry, a former Army medic, leads a support group for disabled Vietnam vets. As he struggles to win Vicki back, Larry finds he is in danger of a far more imminent sort: A disturbed member of the support group--a trained CIA assassin--has disappeared, and is stalking Larry and his family. His methods send an unmistakable message: The game will end in death. At the same time, "The Names of the Dead" is a harrowing and heartfelt portrait of the Vietnam War and the men who fought it. The year is 1968, the place A Shau valley, and Larry Markham--nineteen and green--must find a way to keep his platoon alive. Here we see the stories Larry cannot bring himself to tell--of friends who made the ultimate sacrifice in a war their country scorned.
"The Names of the Dead" is the story of a man trying to find his way back to himself--a story about storytelling and memories that refuse to fade. It is the story of a man rediscovering the courage to love one woman, and, through her, the world, his country, his family, and finally himself.
"The Names of the Dead" is the story of a man trying to find his way back to himself--a story about storytelling and memories that refuse to fade. It is the story of a man rediscovering the courage to love one woman, and, through her, the world, his country, his family, and finally himself.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
2 people are currently reading
471 people want to read
About the author
Stewart O'Nan
82 books1,355 followersStewart O'Nan is the author of eighteen novels, including Emily, Alone; Last Night at the Lobster; A Prayer for the Dying; Snow Angels; and the forthcoming Ocean State, due out from Grove/Atlantic on March 8th, 2022.
With Stephen King, I’ve also co-written Faithful, a nonfiction account of the 2004 Boston Red Sox, and the e-story “A Face in the Crowd.”
You can catch me at stewart-onan.com, on Twitter @stewartonan and on Facebook @stewartONanAuthor
With Stephen King, I’ve also co-written Faithful, a nonfiction account of the 2004 Boston Red Sox, and the e-story “A Face in the Crowd.”
You can catch me at stewart-onan.com, on Twitter @stewartonan and on Facebook @stewartONanAuthor
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
October 8, 2016
It's official. I've just finished reading a book that will now join the slim ranks of the 'greatest books I've ever read'. These books are collected on a special shelf placed above to my writing desk, and it is sparsely populated indeed... the novels require a particularly strong mix of skilled writing, compelling subject matter, intriguing plot, and slick storytelling.
Where to begin? How about this: If I could give 6 stars out of 5 to this novel I would. I often say of a great book "I couldn't put it down!", but 99% of the time that's a worn out embellishment. 'The Names Of The Dead' was, in fact, a book I literally (not figuratively) could not put down. It's a whole other level, and on so many levels too.
For starters, Stewart O'Nan has to be one of the most talented, yet largely unrecognized, writers in America today. He's one of Stephen King's favorite authors, and that's saying something. But as far as writing talent goes they aren't even in the same ballpark. O'Nan crushes it past the stands, dinging cars in the lot outside the stadium. Sadly, these home runs seem to sail over most people's heads. Like any of the arts disciplines, the true talent almost always gets overlooked while the big shiny celebrity shit gets all the attention from it's paid-for press paraded before every prospective reader's face. Stewart O'Nan has gained some popularity over the years, but nowhere near the amount he deserves. Certainly not enough to match his ability to tell a story. I've read other works of his, most notably 'The Speed Queen' (Which I also reviewed here on Goodreads), and I was blown away by his prowess and power. Incredibly, 'The Names Of The Dead' topped it, hitting me with both barrels.
The story is something else. Set in Ithaca, New York, Larry Markham is a damaged Vietnam vet who is having increasing trouble at home, works a shitty day job delivering junk food, and oversees a support group for other injured veterans at the local hospital at nights. Trouble starts when a new veteran named Creeley joins the group. As an ex-soldier of the infamous 'Phoenix Program' (CIA sanctioned murder) Creeley apparently tried and failed to commit suicide by eating the barrel of his gun, and is missing a quarter of his head as a result. Needless to say, he's not thinking straight, but when he insists that he knows Larry from the war (right down to his platoon code name) the story gets real creepy real fast. When Creeley escapes the hospital and proves highly skilled/dangerous even without part of his brain, things go from bad to worse.
Larry's marriage woes, mixed with his strained relationship with his WWII vet father and the encounters with Creeley, dredge up memories of his tour as a nineteen year old army medic in America's worst clusterfuck of a war. The chapters alternate between his current life, and the one he left back in the jungle with his dead platoon. Larry is a haunted man, and what's worse, he has become a hunted one as well.
Ostensibly, 'The Names Of The Dead' is a thriller. But before the word 'genre' even enters your head, know that Stewart O'Nan puts literary writers to absolute shame. Alice McDermott had this to say about it:
"The Names of the Dead is disturbing -- as with anything we know, but would sooner forget...It's also lovely, and heart-breaking, full of sympathy and humor. It should be required reading for anyone who studies war. It should be required reading for us all."
I cannot stress how good this guy is, or how well-written the novel is too. The prose is tight and lean and lethal, compelling without a single shred of bullshit. At times it is brutal, and then unexpectedly beautiful. This is the refined work of a craftsman writer and master storyteller; a prime example of fiction writing at it's utmost best. It's also a grim reminder that some of the most incredible stories can somehow slip through the cracks and never gain their rightful place. I've now added Stewart O'Nan to my very short, very selective list of writing influences.
I urge you to take note of this one, and then take it to the top of your TBR pile.
Where to begin? How about this: If I could give 6 stars out of 5 to this novel I would. I often say of a great book "I couldn't put it down!", but 99% of the time that's a worn out embellishment. 'The Names Of The Dead' was, in fact, a book I literally (not figuratively) could not put down. It's a whole other level, and on so many levels too.
For starters, Stewart O'Nan has to be one of the most talented, yet largely unrecognized, writers in America today. He's one of Stephen King's favorite authors, and that's saying something. But as far as writing talent goes they aren't even in the same ballpark. O'Nan crushes it past the stands, dinging cars in the lot outside the stadium. Sadly, these home runs seem to sail over most people's heads. Like any of the arts disciplines, the true talent almost always gets overlooked while the big shiny celebrity shit gets all the attention from it's paid-for press paraded before every prospective reader's face. Stewart O'Nan has gained some popularity over the years, but nowhere near the amount he deserves. Certainly not enough to match his ability to tell a story. I've read other works of his, most notably 'The Speed Queen' (Which I also reviewed here on Goodreads), and I was blown away by his prowess and power. Incredibly, 'The Names Of The Dead' topped it, hitting me with both barrels.
The story is something else. Set in Ithaca, New York, Larry Markham is a damaged Vietnam vet who is having increasing trouble at home, works a shitty day job delivering junk food, and oversees a support group for other injured veterans at the local hospital at nights. Trouble starts when a new veteran named Creeley joins the group. As an ex-soldier of the infamous 'Phoenix Program' (CIA sanctioned murder) Creeley apparently tried and failed to commit suicide by eating the barrel of his gun, and is missing a quarter of his head as a result. Needless to say, he's not thinking straight, but when he insists that he knows Larry from the war (right down to his platoon code name) the story gets real creepy real fast. When Creeley escapes the hospital and proves highly skilled/dangerous even without part of his brain, things go from bad to worse.
Larry's marriage woes, mixed with his strained relationship with his WWII vet father and the encounters with Creeley, dredge up memories of his tour as a nineteen year old army medic in America's worst clusterfuck of a war. The chapters alternate between his current life, and the one he left back in the jungle with his dead platoon. Larry is a haunted man, and what's worse, he has become a hunted one as well.
Ostensibly, 'The Names Of The Dead' is a thriller. But before the word 'genre' even enters your head, know that Stewart O'Nan puts literary writers to absolute shame. Alice McDermott had this to say about it:
"The Names of the Dead is disturbing -- as with anything we know, but would sooner forget...It's also lovely, and heart-breaking, full of sympathy and humor. It should be required reading for anyone who studies war. It should be required reading for us all."
I cannot stress how good this guy is, or how well-written the novel is too. The prose is tight and lean and lethal, compelling without a single shred of bullshit. At times it is brutal, and then unexpectedly beautiful. This is the refined work of a craftsman writer and master storyteller; a prime example of fiction writing at it's utmost best. It's also a grim reminder that some of the most incredible stories can somehow slip through the cracks and never gain their rightful place. I've now added Stewart O'Nan to my very short, very selective list of writing influences.
I urge you to take note of this one, and then take it to the top of your TBR pile.
June 2, 2017
Don't know how I missed this book when it came out, and it was a difficult read for me in the terrible After of life.
I suppose it is a timely read since Ken Burns is ramping up the promo for his turn at Vietnam.
There's a bright line that runs through my generation, guys who went (to Vietnam) and guys who didn't. The author, too young to have served (I kept checking) nonetheless was able to write from the painfully vivid perspective of a young medic. The most mundane sentences made me want to cry. The Vietnam sections were the best and worst; the main character's dreary post-war life was a slog for me, but that is, after all, the real story and one not often told.
The multiple story lines at times seemed like too much, but ended in a satisfactory way that managed not to be contrived or corny, which was no easy feat.
We love the guts and glory of war stories, and the too young GIs in country tossing gum to little children and caught in photos with eyes that are way too old for their faces, but the return to the world is the boring hard part. Better to skip over it.
It was worth the slog through the terrible After. Painful. But worth it to press on the place where the bruise was. Boys play war and boys fight wars. Men don't like to talk about it. O'Nan did a great job with a cruel, twisting story. Good luck to Ken Burns.
I suppose it is a timely read since Ken Burns is ramping up the promo for his turn at Vietnam.
There's a bright line that runs through my generation, guys who went (to Vietnam) and guys who didn't. The author, too young to have served (I kept checking) nonetheless was able to write from the painfully vivid perspective of a young medic. The most mundane sentences made me want to cry. The Vietnam sections were the best and worst; the main character's dreary post-war life was a slog for me, but that is, after all, the real story and one not often told.
The multiple story lines at times seemed like too much, but ended in a satisfactory way that managed not to be contrived or corny, which was no easy feat.
We love the guts and glory of war stories, and the too young GIs in country tossing gum to little children and caught in photos with eyes that are way too old for their faces, but the return to the world is the boring hard part. Better to skip over it.
It was worth the slog through the terrible After. Painful. But worth it to press on the place where the bruise was. Boys play war and boys fight wars. Men don't like to talk about it. O'Nan did a great job with a cruel, twisting story. Good luck to Ken Burns.
May 29, 2019
Early O'Nan - good but far from his best.
March 2, 2012
There are two stories in Stewart O'Nan's THE NAMES OF THE DEAD. The first, and perhaps the most important, is the story of what happened to army medic Larry Markham and his buddies in the Vietnam War in 1968-69. And this story is told in what is perhaps some of the most graphically horrific language seen in all the literature that has emerged from that conflict. And there's been a lot, believe me.
I was held in the grip of that narrative for most of the nearly 400 pages, although I found the first half of the story just a little slow. It was like O'Nan was rolling the massive boulder of his story up a steep grade as he introduced all the characters and carefully and methodically set the scene. But once he reached the top, which was right about two hundred pages in, the story rolled downhill at a breakneck pace that kept you turning the pages and hanging on every word and phrase.
The second story is the postwar one, of what has happened to Larry Markham in the dozen-plus years since he came home from the war, the only survivor of his original squad, missing a foot and plagued by terrors and self-doubt as his dead friends visit him nightly in dreams. He drives a Twinkie truck by day and leads a weekly discussion group of, damaged Vietnam vets at the local VA hospital in his hometown of Ithaca, New York, trying along with the others to sort it all out and make some sense of it. Together these vets make plans for Larry to visit the then-new memorial Wall in D.C., where "the names of the dead" in all their thousands are inscribed.
His wife, Vicki, understands none of this and has left him, taking their eight year-old son who has physical and mental disabilities (perhaps resulting from Larry's exposure to napalm and Agent Orange). Learning she's been having an affair, Larry begins a relationship with his mentally unstable next-door neighbor, Donna, whose husband has left with their children. The strange thing about this aspect of the story is that there is no one to blame. Everyone is hurting - Larry, Vicki, Donna. I mean it's a mess, but you end up feeling for all of these people. If there's a villain, then it's the war, which has poisoned everything for the returning vets like Larry and his group members.
Add to all of this another disfigured and very mentally ill special forces (Phoenix) vet who is stalking both Larry and his physician father (a WWII vet and former POW whose story is a minor but fascinating subplot all its own) and you have all the makings of a macabre and gripping thriller, perhaps in the manner of Stephen King. (Ironically, both Vicki and Larry's father are both reading the same King novel, which is not named.)
Maybe you've figured out by now that this is not a simple novel. It's complicated, and - more to the point - it's damn GOOD! The one thing I can't figure out here is how O'Nan, who was only fourteen years old when the U.S. got out of Vietnam, managed to tell the story of the war so absolutely dead-on perfectly - the feel of the jungle warfare, the casually obscene GI language, the horror of the disfiguring wounds and violent deaths. I mean ALL of this is so real, so pitch perfect. How did he DO this? I don't know. But he carried it off magnificently. This guy writes like he was there. I was reminded of several other Vietnam books I've read, from William Pelfrey's THE BIG V (the first novel to come out of the war in the early 70s) to Karl Marlantes recent bestseller, MATTERHORN. Or - from the memoir side - John Ketwig's ... AND A HARD RAIN FELL, Frederick Downs's THE KILLING ZONE or Robert Mason's CHICKENHAWK. There are plenty of books I could cite here, but the important thing is Stewart O'Nan's book can stand with the best of them. A tremendous literary achievement.
I was held in the grip of that narrative for most of the nearly 400 pages, although I found the first half of the story just a little slow. It was like O'Nan was rolling the massive boulder of his story up a steep grade as he introduced all the characters and carefully and methodically set the scene. But once he reached the top, which was right about two hundred pages in, the story rolled downhill at a breakneck pace that kept you turning the pages and hanging on every word and phrase.
The second story is the postwar one, of what has happened to Larry Markham in the dozen-plus years since he came home from the war, the only survivor of his original squad, missing a foot and plagued by terrors and self-doubt as his dead friends visit him nightly in dreams. He drives a Twinkie truck by day and leads a weekly discussion group of, damaged Vietnam vets at the local VA hospital in his hometown of Ithaca, New York, trying along with the others to sort it all out and make some sense of it. Together these vets make plans for Larry to visit the then-new memorial Wall in D.C., where "the names of the dead" in all their thousands are inscribed.
His wife, Vicki, understands none of this and has left him, taking their eight year-old son who has physical and mental disabilities (perhaps resulting from Larry's exposure to napalm and Agent Orange). Learning she's been having an affair, Larry begins a relationship with his mentally unstable next-door neighbor, Donna, whose husband has left with their children. The strange thing about this aspect of the story is that there is no one to blame. Everyone is hurting - Larry, Vicki, Donna. I mean it's a mess, but you end up feeling for all of these people. If there's a villain, then it's the war, which has poisoned everything for the returning vets like Larry and his group members.
Add to all of this another disfigured and very mentally ill special forces (Phoenix) vet who is stalking both Larry and his physician father (a WWII vet and former POW whose story is a minor but fascinating subplot all its own) and you have all the makings of a macabre and gripping thriller, perhaps in the manner of Stephen King. (Ironically, both Vicki and Larry's father are both reading the same King novel, which is not named.)
Maybe you've figured out by now that this is not a simple novel. It's complicated, and - more to the point - it's damn GOOD! The one thing I can't figure out here is how O'Nan, who was only fourteen years old when the U.S. got out of Vietnam, managed to tell the story of the war so absolutely dead-on perfectly - the feel of the jungle warfare, the casually obscene GI language, the horror of the disfiguring wounds and violent deaths. I mean ALL of this is so real, so pitch perfect. How did he DO this? I don't know. But he carried it off magnificently. This guy writes like he was there. I was reminded of several other Vietnam books I've read, from William Pelfrey's THE BIG V (the first novel to come out of the war in the early 70s) to Karl Marlantes recent bestseller, MATTERHORN. Or - from the memoir side - John Ketwig's ... AND A HARD RAIN FELL, Frederick Downs's THE KILLING ZONE or Robert Mason's CHICKENHAWK. There are plenty of books I could cite here, but the important thing is Stewart O'Nan's book can stand with the best of them. A tremendous literary achievement.
June 16, 2019
This book poses a plausible explanation for why those who in war experienced intense horror, and the camaraderie that can grow among those who have experienced it together, jealously guard their memories to share only with those likely to understand them. That level of intensity may never visit them again, and can further explain failures in the relationships they have with civilians regardless of everyone's best intentions.
Larry Markham served as a medic in Vietnam, assumed responsibility for the men in his platoon even as he couldn't save them. While in the present day his inability and disinclination to communicate his experiences with his wife or anyone else who wasn't a companion in war caused unassailable barriers, he felt that he loved his family deeply. There were times, however, when he questioned what was meant by love, and whether what he felt rose to that level.
Like most other O'Nan books I have read, the characters were all intimately and realistically drawn, and the way they behaved was logical to the way they were described. The only jarring bit was the homicidal special ops vet who targeted Larry. Although the mystery propelled me through the pages, I'm not sure I understood the final reveal. The unlogic (word?) of his behavior, or my failure to understand it is the only reason I don't give the book highest marks.
Larry Markham served as a medic in Vietnam, assumed responsibility for the men in his platoon even as he couldn't save them. While in the present day his inability and disinclination to communicate his experiences with his wife or anyone else who wasn't a companion in war caused unassailable barriers, he felt that he loved his family deeply. There were times, however, when he questioned what was meant by love, and whether what he felt rose to that level.
Like most other O'Nan books I have read, the characters were all intimately and realistically drawn, and the way they behaved was logical to the way they were described. The only jarring bit was the homicidal special ops vet who targeted Larry. Although the mystery propelled me through the pages, I'm not sure I understood the final reveal. The unlogic (word?) of his behavior, or my failure to understand it is the only reason I don't give the book highest marks.
April 10, 2019
I've been catching up on O'Nan's backlist before diving into his latest book, HENRY, HIMSELF. I mean, the guy's got about fifteen or so novels (if you don't count TRANSMISSION), a highly impressive output. Well, this early O'Nan novel turned out to be an incredible surprise! Emotionally moving, seamlessly shifting between Vietnam and years later, effortlessly balancing love, war, and a nutty thriller -- and all carried out with O'Nan's exquisite care into the way that regular people live. Larry was a medic in Vietnam, following in the footsteps of his father (a vet and a doctor). These days, he's a sad sack who delivers Twinkies in a truck. His wife has left him. His lonely neighbor gives him rides to work. There's a creepy guy leaving playing cards with messages. And then there are the Vietnam flashbacks, filled with grisly details. You may think that this description means a rather balderdash book. But look, folks, this is Stewart O'Nan. You read this guy, surely one of the most underrated writers in America, for the quotidian details that tally up to complex psychological portraits. This book somehow manages to be Vietnam's answer to THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. And it's one of the finest post-Vietnam novels ever written.
July 26, 2020
I was prepared to give this novel five stars but the climactic scene between Larry and Creeley left me scratching my head, almost as though O'Nan was trying for something unusual rather than the standard "High Noon" type of showdown. Trouble is, he spent the better part of the novel building up for just such a scene so finding out what Creeley wants from Larry in the end was just...weird, and anticlimactic I thought. So then, a strong four stars and if I could give four and a half or four and three-quarters I would. The Vietnam scenes are among the best I have read in fiction or otherwise, and I would have liked to know what O'Nan did by way of research for this novel, as his command of slang, military jargon, and the day-to-day work of platoon grunts seems very authentic and horrifying. The domestic drama which forms the other major plot line is also very well developed and, sadly, believable. This is my first O'Nan novel but if this is indicative of his level of talent it certainly won't be my last.
September 10, 2019
This is a shocking and painful novel to read, but then the Vietnam War is so shocking & painful to think about in our history and current time.
The writing is breathtaking which makes the details of a medic’s experiences in the war so visceral. In some chapters I became too distressed to real all the pages. I skipped thru several chapters.
Still I thoroughly recommend this book.
It is a historical book and a mystery.
The writing is breathtaking which makes the details of a medic’s experiences in the war so visceral. In some chapters I became too distressed to real all the pages. I skipped thru several chapters.
Still I thoroughly recommend this book.
It is a historical book and a mystery.
November 2, 2022
Starts off slow, or maybe I just couldn't get into it, but picks up steam to a fitting conclusion. The story flits back and forth between 1982 Ithaca and 1968 Vietnam. I wasn't really all that interested in the 1982 world except for the hospital group meetings. Found the Vietnam very interesting and suspenseful. I never understood why Scott's situation was Larry's fault... maybe it was intentionally left in the air.
November 1, 2018
The Vietnam stuff is very good. The ending was a tad weak. Average read.
February 2, 2020
Moving, solemn, intense...Masterfully plotted with believable characters. This book is early O’ Nan; he was off and running from here!
September 14, 2022
just too depressing for me
June 30, 2024
3.5 stars
March 7, 2009
The Vietnam War is physically over, it's 1982, but Larry is still in the war. His wife has taken their son and left again and Larry's life begins to unravel all around him - his father, a WWII vet, won't talk to him about their shared military experiences; a disturbed member of the support group led by Larry has disappeared and has begun to stalk Larry; he is haunted by the dead of those he knew during the war, he dreams and lives the war every day; the relationship he forms with his neighbor complicates his relationship with his own wife; and for an extra dose of being fisted, Larry's mother is also unstable and in a world of her own.
So far the most dense (in terms of size and quality of writing) of O'Nan's books, with the most amount of realism in his writing. O'Nan was fourteen at the end of the war but it's evident how much of an impact the experiences of the soldiers across the world affected him.
I was just graduating high school when this book was published which is a shame because I would have loved to have brought it up in the US/Vietnam Experience course I took.
I continue to heart Stewart O'Nan.
So far the most dense (in terms of size and quality of writing) of O'Nan's books, with the most amount of realism in his writing. O'Nan was fourteen at the end of the war but it's evident how much of an impact the experiences of the soldiers across the world affected him.
I was just graduating high school when this book was published which is a shame because I would have loved to have brought it up in the US/Vietnam Experience course I took.
I continue to heart Stewart O'Nan.
March 19, 2011
The Names of the Dead by Stewart O'Nan was originally published in 1996. This is O'Nan's second novel. In it, Larry Markham's life is in turmoil. His wife has left him, again, with their young, disabled son. He has constant dreams of his time as a medic in Vietnam and the men who died, but is unable to talk about his experiences, even to the support group he leads. His relationship with his father is filled with tension and unanswered questions. And now a trained killer from his support group has apparently targeted him for death. While this is an excellent novel, readers should be forewarned that there is a lot of material covering Larry's time in combat in Vietnam. This is very essential to the story itself, but if you would generally avoid combat novels, Names of the Dead might not be a good choice for you. On the other hand, if you are a real connoisseur of combat novels or stories from Vietnam, this is also not a good choice for you. Fellow members of the Stewart O'Nan fan club will like it. Rating: 4; http://shetreadssoftly.blogspot.com/
June 26, 2011
There are only a few books about VietNam that I read and can wholeheartedly recommend..."Fire in the Lake" by Frances Fitzgerald and the brilliant "Dispatches" by Michael Herr in non-Fiction and "Dog Soldiers" by Robert Stone...though "The Names of the Dead" doesn't quite achieve that level of excellence( the PsychoVet on a mission of revenge and the last few pages at The Wall are a bit too melodramatic and overtly sentimental for my taste)it is still a very good novel and Larry Markham,the protagonist,is totally believable as a young soldier in '68-'69 and as physical and psychic Collateral Damage 13 years later...since O'Nan was born in '61,extraordinary research and exquisite empathy,as well as just sheer novelistic skill account for the complete verisimilitude of the In Country sections...maybe there are just too many things that happen to Echo Company,maybe a Sergeant gets inappropriately saluted but cavils aside...this is a fine,fine book...
August 29, 2011
This book...well, I am speechless. I am not a war novel reader. Like many people, I struggled through Red Badge of Courage in junior high. It was good, sure, but yawn. The Names of the Dead is a brilliant novel which just happens to be a war novel. Not only a war novel, but a gritty gruesome war novel about Viet Nam. Ghastly atrocities are recounted in such a matter-of-fact way that they they only become more horrifying. So this is what it was like ? Is this what Iraq, Afghanistan are like ? Is this what all wars are/were ? I will never know the answer, but Stewart O'Nan has given me an enormous amount of material to think about.
Not only is this a superb war novel, but it is also a superb novel about people - real breathing people with real feelings and real problems, which - as in real life - rarely have real solutions.
I highly recommend this book to the attention of any thinking reader.
Not only is this a superb war novel, but it is also a superb novel about people - real breathing people with real feelings and real problems, which - as in real life - rarely have real solutions.
I highly recommend this book to the attention of any thinking reader.
June 10, 2014
I wanted to really really like this book. I read some reviews that said the plot begins to pick up about 200 pages in. Well, it did a bit, but for me this book just never turned into a page turner. I persevered to the end simply because I was already so far in.
What I liked:
*I felt like the back and forth action in time was absolutely seamless. The flashbacks never seemed jarring- rather they seemed to fit right into the story
*The various story lines all fit together nicely as well and came together in the end
What I disliked:
*The Vietnam war portions were SO realistic that I found I couldn't really follow what was happening. The author uses a lot of military lingo/jargon that kept me pretty much lost to the nuances of the storyline
*The ending had potential to be really thrilling, but I think it fizzled out by then.
I really wanted to like this book, but it's not one that left me engrossed in the story when I came to the end.
What I liked:
*I felt like the back and forth action in time was absolutely seamless. The flashbacks never seemed jarring- rather they seemed to fit right into the story
*The various story lines all fit together nicely as well and came together in the end
What I disliked:
*The Vietnam war portions were SO realistic that I found I couldn't really follow what was happening. The author uses a lot of military lingo/jargon that kept me pretty much lost to the nuances of the storyline
*The ending had potential to be really thrilling, but I think it fizzled out by then.
I really wanted to like this book, but it's not one that left me engrossed in the story when I came to the end.
May 22, 2013
Story of a doctor's son from Ithaca, N.Y. who becomes a medic in the Vietnam War. The author describes the time in Vietnam so brutally and vividly, you almost feel like you are there. The war chapters are interwoven with his life back at home, years later, and you see how the War has changed his life forever, affecting his marriage and family life. We tend to thank those in uniform, and while sincere, really have little clue just what sacrifices they make for us. This novel sheds some light on just what that cost is.
October 27, 2013
***SPOILERS***
Will somebody please explain the ending of this book to me? I loved it, couldn't put it down, thought it was stunning, but how did Creeley and Larry know each other??! Was there a Vietnam scene I missed? Am I supposed to be confused, because Larry himself is confused and doesn't remember? Did Creeley just resent that Larry tended him and hadn't put him out of his misery in an incident not previously described? If so, what was with the cards?
Sorry to be dense, but I read the denouement scene three times and I just can't figure it out.
Will somebody please explain the ending of this book to me? I loved it, couldn't put it down, thought it was stunning, but how did Creeley and Larry know each other??! Was there a Vietnam scene I missed? Am I supposed to be confused, because Larry himself is confused and doesn't remember? Did Creeley just resent that Larry tended him and hadn't put him out of his misery in an incident not previously described? If so, what was with the cards?
Sorry to be dense, but I read the denouement scene three times and I just can't figure it out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2010
When I read novels about the Vietnam War that have chapters alternating between the war and events several years later, I usually really love the War chapters and am annoyed with the other chapters. I would give them 3 stars. One some levels, this book was no exception. But the war chapters were so good (almost to the point of tears in places) and the other chapters had a thriller/ghost story plot, that this deserved 4. I am starting to love O'Nan.
June 25, 2012
I got interested in this author because he taught at Trinity College where my daughter went to school and my nephew teaches. This is the second book he wrote. It combines two stories; one story takes place in Vietnam and the other in Ithaca, NY. It is a story about war and what it does to our children. It is also a story about family and home.
This is not an easy book to read but the writing is excellent and the story unforgettable.
This is not an easy book to read but the writing is excellent and the story unforgettable.
August 20, 2008
I really don't mean to be flip when I say I'm shell-shocked.
I dreamt about Vietnam every night after putting this book down.
I ached every time I picked it up.
It's an amazing, compelling read. But it also hurts.
I dreamt about Vietnam every night after putting this book down.
I ached every time I picked it up.
It's an amazing, compelling read. But it also hurts.
April 25, 2009
Very disappointing. The war descriptions sound realistic (reminded me of We Were Soldiers) and it's interesting the way he has a number of other story lines intertwined, but the ending just fizzled out!
November 17, 2013
A gripping tale of a returned Viet Nam vet, with flashbacks of what happened in VN and how how he deals with post-war life. The war scenes are graphic and gory, but ring true. The plot of his current problems is also interesting.
October 16, 2014
LOVED this book! While part of the plot seemed a little contrived, it also made me think about Vietnam in a whole new light. It made that war and its soldiers come to life. I think this would be a great read for anyone!
March 3, 2008
This book takes place in the 80's but with flashbacks to the Vietnam war. It really makes you stop and consider what the Vietnam War did to those who actually had to do the fighting.
February 17, 2009
This one just didn't do it for me and I quit 20 pages in. I will try another by him, though, that might be more suited for me.
Want to read
June 22, 20101st edition, signed by author
August 31, 2010
Maybe it ended up being a good book, but I quit on page 76. Just couldn't get into it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews