Rating: 
Summary: Apocalypse Then
Review: "Ignore the bad stuff, look for the good." Paul Berlin, our mostly reliable narrator of an unreliable and surreal war, remembers these words from his father when the two of them camped out along the Des Moines river one summer, when the chief threat was probably no more than a mosquito bite. He recalls these words on a night march not long after watching one compatriot die from fright and another couple shot to pieces in a forced tunnel search by their implacable lieutenant. As much as Paul Berlin wants to wake up from the war, the reader is drawn to the vividly sketched details of this dreamscape. There is a surreal quality to Tim O'Brien's writing (rather than wait for Godot, the soldiers chase the ghost of an enigmatic private) that mixes brisk humor with desultory maiming and death. It's as immediate and unembellished as the ground these soldiers walk, crouch, crawl, recline, and fall on; a Vietnam "Catch 22".O'Brien pretty much dispenses with plot in order to communicate (in penetrating detail) the haze of war. The soldiers straggle through a boobytrapped landscape on their way to Paris, ostensibly to bring back their defected comrade (rendered by O'Brien as a cipher, a Pillsbury Doughboy who should have boarded the bus for summer camp, but instead was shipped to Vietnam), but realize after awhile that Cacciato, in his naive way, is fulfilling their own fantasy of escaping from this unwinnable war - a goading from Cacciato to follow in his footsteps. This long day's journey into night is lightened by O'Brien's quirkily drawn characters (like trigger-happy Stink Harris and tough, sometimes sly, Oscar Johnson) and the fracturing of time. Rather than one long descent into hell, the reader is kept on his toes as O'Brien jump cuts between different time frames, delivering alternating moods and foreshadowed action parceled out with the patience of a surgeon who knows how deep to cut and when to remove the bandages. You trust him not to lop off your leg....and then you hit a mine in the text. The best fiction lets you stand in; here you get a ringside seat and the certain knowlege that all bets are off for these characters.
Rating:
Summary: Great read!
Review: This book was very typical Tim O Brien and I thoroughly enjoyed the action as well as the emotional ordeals that the author puts the characters through. THis is a great book and to anyone that hasn't read Tim O Brien before I would recommend this book along with the almost perfect "The Things They Carried"
Rating: 
Summary: War and Imagination
Review: The main character, Paul Berlin, was a regular kid that was floating through life without clear purpose. When he dropped out of junior college, he was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. It is from Paul's perspective that we experience "Going After Cacciato." As mentioned in the other reviews, the story is told in three interweaving parts. The different storylines are clearly delineated by the chapter titles, so don't let this method of story-telling scare you off. I would recommend that you read this book with a friend. There are many points of discussion, including whether or not certain events take place entirely in Paul's imagination. Another interesting topic is what, ultimately, is more important: your opinion of yourself or the opinions that others hold about you.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting characters and idea but storyline is just ok
Review: This is a decent Vietnam story. If you want a gory book like the movies make it this is not for you, however- if you want a book that has an original plot and good characters, read it. Tim O'Brien has a first hand take on war and reveals his experience through ideas in this book. It isn't a book you can read in one sitting but it is a decent read for a boring weekend or plane flight.
Rating:
Summary: Hallucinatory, Surreal, Brilliant
Review: Of all the books that I have read on the Vietnam War, this is the only one that truly captures the mindset of insanity that makes it a worthy Vietnam testament. Going After Cacciato is an incredible novel, Tim O'Brien artfully interweaves fact and fiction, fantasy and reality, past and present, appearance and truth all so seamlessly that it seems only natural. It is a totally unique novel. The novel is about an idealistic soldier, Cacciato, who one day decides to leave the war. He abandons his post and heads off to Paris. Then the story becomes more surreal as his squad pursues him through the streets of Mandalay and Delhi and through Kabul and Tehran as they all get closer to deliverance. Meanwhile, the protagonist, Paul Berlin, recalls how things used to be when a young lieutenant was in charge of the brigade, as well as everything from childhood to one particular night on the observation post. The plot begins to play with reality to an increasing extent, but the story remains engaging to the end. One wonderful thing about this book is its absolute recollection of the life of a soldier. In a book like this that exposes the reader to the true life of a soldier, the details must be present and plausible, and being as O'Brien was a veteran, it is safe to assume that they are, in fact, realistic. However, his insight leads to an intense examination of the life and mindset of a soldier. The soldiers in the story talk like soldiers, but they just seem like real people with a horrible burden thrust upon their shoulders. Also, O'Brien's writing is delightful. Speaking from a purely syntactical standpoint, the way he crafts his sentences is a pleasure to read, even if it describes something horrible in Paul's life. Although it is not strictly a war novel, the essence of the war is conveyed throughout. Required reading for anyone wanting to understand the war, or see the perfection of the craft of writing.
Rating:
Summary: Astonishing
Review: Further example of the mastery with which O'Brien writes every one of his novels. The words are so beautiful that you forget you're reading about Vietnam. This is a gripping and intensely told tale of personal convictions and soldierly duty. Read this book. Read every O'Brien book. His words are inspiring and thgouth provoking. Hie style is truly original and he has risen to the rank of the greatest writer of his generation. I give this novel my highest recommendation to any one interested in Vietnam or just reading good literature.
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as "Things They Carried"
Review: If you read "Going After Cacciato" after reading Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," prepare for a minor disappointment. The novel is at it's best during those stand-alone chapters that read like short tales from "TTTC." O'Brien's meditation on duty and obligation versus the desire to flee is fine, but somewhat light. Written in 1979, it almost feels as if he is being too careful about not offending anyone as he brings up the distasteful subject of the Vietnam War. It would be particularly inappropriate for teachers to assign this novel to their students to understand what the Vietnam War was like for the soldiers who fought it. For that task, I highly recommend THE THIRTEENTH VALLEY by John Del Vecchio and FIELDS OF FIRE by James Webb.
Rating:
Summary: Getting Lost Along The Way
Review: "Going After Cacciato" is a highly rated book. It's a national book award winner and dubbed, " A novel of great beauty and importance" by The Boston Globe. Tim O'Brien is a highly rated author as well, having won more than just this award and the interest and loyalty of many readers. This book is no acception.
"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."(p104)This is very representative of O'Brien's writing style and the style of the book. To me it just points out how little faith soldiers have in a war. They hope for a god, but they don't believe anything until they can see it.
The reason I only this book three stars is not because of the writing itself, and certainly not because of the story. I just personally dislike the way in which the book tells its story. You find out information just before you need it and it has three stories going on at once. It's close to impossible, at some points, to tell when the stories become separate because they all seem to bleed together.Also if you know anything about war, parts of the tale are highly unbelievable, and the end comes as no shock. I would reccomend that this book be read by persons having patience and willingness to read the book through to the end, despite its slow start.
Rating:
Summary: Going After Cacciato
Review: Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien is a very well written book. Some may find the flashback memory writing style a bit confusing, but I think it adds a positive literary element. The reader learns a lot about the Vietnam War through Paul Berlin's, a soldier fighting the Commies, memories.
Tim O'Brien uses satire to get his point across sometimes. In one scene, Berlin and his buddies are somewhere in China and are talking about their experiences in Vietnam. " It was such a wonderful war they should make it a movie." One soldier made this sarcastic comment to a Chinese official, who was very interested in their part of the war.
This book shows many aspects of the war. It shows mostly the horrors of war, the deaths and mindless destruction of so much, just to wipe out a form of government. In this war, new war tactics were being used, and they caused horrible deaths to innocent citizens. Everyone knows the Vietnam was the worst war in American history, but this book shows why.
Rating:
Summary: Going After Cacciato
Review: Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien is an OK book. I like the concept behind the story, however, the way the book jumps back and forth in time makes it confusing and hard to follow. I feel I would have like it better if I could have had a better sense of the sequence of events, and which events actually happened and which were metaphorical. This book offered an interesting insight into the mind of a soldier during the war, and how they handled their experiences in the towns and cities on the way to Paris.
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