Literary criticism Jason Kyek.
Going after Cacciato is a book that in my opinion is very confusing and boring. I just couldn't get into the book. Most of the books that our teachers choose for us or that we are forced to read are extremely boring to me. I probably would have enjoyed it more if It wasn't so long and drawn out, if it was more enjoyable and less confusing and jumpy. I will be elaborating on my criticsm of this book.
This book was very long and drawn out over 250 pgs just talking about some guy who ran away from the Vietnam War to Paris and people chasing him. The author elaborated too much. For example to say it was raining he would say something like the rain trickled down my neck and the clouds were as black as night and etc. Tim O"Brien would also use maybe 3 similes for one word and make 1 description a page long.
Unless you were in a war or are a fan of the service this book is boring (my opinion). I know the author wrote the book aimed at adults but I still can't understand how it won awards. If the book was cut down a little bit I think I would have enjoyed it more.
This book was also very jumpy. I couldn't keep up with who was talking; quotes just sprung up everywhere. Books are very hard to keep track of when they jump around all the time. This book used descriptions that didn't make sense so it made the book difficult to understand. The book also seemed as if it were a screen play for a movie the confusing way quotes were said. "Paul Berlin paid attention to detail. He saw sunlight that lasted until dusk. He saw grain unloaded from small river junks. He saw a monkey dancing at the end of a leather leash. He saw the river darken, the sky turning pink, the city beginning to light itself. And he believed what he saw."(P 104) This is very representative of O'Brien's writing style and the style of the book.
I realize that some people probably loved the book and some people probably disliked it but everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion.