O'Brien, Tim (Vol. 7) | O'Brien, Tim 1946–
O'Brien, Tim 1946–
O'Brien is an American novelist and a former national affairs reporter for The Washington Post.
[If I Die in a Combat Zone] is the autobiography of a foot-soldier who survived Vietnam. It doesn't aim to be in any sense definitive; it is casual and impressionistic and unfolds through a series of snapshots from Induction to (Very Honourable) Discharge. A strange aura surrounds it: you feel that you are in the presence of someone exceptional, for O'Brien is young, handsome, intelligent, sensitive and brave. On top of this he is a fine writer.
He finds himself in uniform and in action through what he describes as 'sleepwalking default', for though he is a reluctant soldier and morally opposed to the war, he drifts into it out of deference to his family and home town. He makes some abortive plans to dodge to Scandinavia, but somehow he does not follow them through, and it is this very mixture of principle and...
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