Conversations with Tim O'Brien

On the strength of a National Book Award for his novel Going After Cacciato and a widely acclaimed short-story cycle, The Things They Carried, Tim OBrien (b. 1946) cemented his reputation as one of the most compelling chroniclers of Vietnamand, in the process, was cast as a "Vietnam writer." But to confine OBrien to a single piece of ground or a particular style is to ignore the broad sweep of a career spanning nearly four decades. In addition to detailed discussions of all of OBriens worka memoir, If I Die in a Combat Zone, and seven books of fictionthe sixteen interviews and profiles in Conversations with Tim OBrien explore common themes, with subtle differences. Looming large is the experience of Vietnam and its influence as well as OBriens youth in Minnesota and the expectations of a midwestern upbringing. Interviews allowed the writer to fully examine the shifting boundaries of truth and identity, memory, and imagination in fiction; the role of war in society; gender issues; and the craft of writing. OBrien approaches each of these topics and a host of others with a directness and an evident passion that will resonate with both readers and prospective writers.