... in a prefatory note that what follows is "a work of fiction." Fiction is a complicated term in O'Brien's world, though; the stories are deemed true sometimes because they happened that way and sometimes because they convey some larger truth about the Vietnam experience. This book suggests that ... stories often communicate a more accurate notion of the truth than even experience can, which makes them compelling whether or not the reader ... Cowling, the protagonist, is haunted from a young age by the apocalyptic terror of his world. Despite his awareness that his parents, his wife, and...

• Word Count: 781
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate