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Vietnam Vet Tim O'Brien Explores Brutal Truths of War through Fiction

O'Brien's new novel is called The Things They Carried, about a soldier's experiences during the Vietnam War. Despite the fact that the narrator shares the author's name -- and that several scenes are taken directly from his own memory -- O'Brien is careful to point out that the book is indeed a work of fiction.

18:42
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Other segments from the episode on July 30, 1990

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, July 30, 1990: Interview with Jamie Lee Curtis; Interview with Tim O'Brien; Review of Charles Pellegrino's book "Unearthing Atlantis."
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03:55

"Unearthing Atlantis" Is a Dream of a Book

The new work by archaeologist Charles Pellegrino reconstructs a vision of the ancient Greek world on the island of Thera, where the mythical city of Atlantis was said to have been. Book critic John Leonard says it's fascinating to think how technology and civilization would have advanced had that area not been destroyed by a volcano.

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18:49

Vietnam Vet Tim O'Brien Explores Brutal Truths of War through Fiction.

Novelist Tim O'Brien. He was writing about Vietnam long before it became fashionable to do so. His Vietnam memoir, "If I die in a Combat Zone," was published in 1973. O'Brien's 1979 novel "Going After Cacciato" was praised for its depiction of the Vietnam War. It also was the surprise winner of the 1979 National Book Awards -- beating out books by John Irving and John Cheever.

Interview
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22:24

Author Tim O'Brien Returns to Vietnam

Novelist Tim O'Brien has been called "one of our most eloquent writers about Vietnam" (Playboy). "In the Lake of the Woods" is his new novel about a man whose involvement in the war is much like O'Brien's. Both were at the My Lai massacre, and they shared a need to be accepted -- which drove them to serve in the war.

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