ABSTRACT

This collection of seven essays, like the carefully linked collection of vignettes within Tim O’Brien’s most popular book The Things They Carried, contains multiple critical and biographical angles with recurring threads of life events, themes, characters, creative techniques, and references to all of O’Brien’s books. Grounded in through research, Herzog’s work illustrates how O’Brien merges his life experiences with his creative production; he rarely misses an opportunity to introduce these critical life events into his writing.

chapter 1|36 pages

The Things He Carries

“Fractured Love Stories”

chapter 3|34 pages

Siegfried Sassoon and Tim O’Brien

Good Soldiers Fighting and Writing Unholy Wars

chapter 5|27 pages

Tim O’Brien’s Best Novel (?)

Emerging Authors, Accidental Tourists, and Existential Guides

chapter 6|23 pages

Footnotes and Quotes

Tracking the Elusive Tim O’Brien in In the Lake of the Woods