I first thought this was an excerpt from Tim O'Brien's book of the same title, and was quite confused. I'm not sure if the person that chose this story knew that it wasn't in fact from Tim O'Brien's book. I almost chose this piece because that's what I originally thought. I didn't really consider that O'Brien's work is fiction.
The piece by Demetria Martinez is quite different from O'Brien's. Where you think you can feel sympathy for the soldiers trudging through Vietnamese jungles in the heat of summer in O'Brien's piece, you are horrified and stunned to silence with the knowledge that, though O'Brien's is based on real events, the things in Martinez' piece are documented. They really really happened. As in, that note that says "I need you... I hope that very soon we can be together forever" was really written, really lost in the desert by someone risking their lives on the chance that they might be more free, might get the chance to spend the rest of their lives with their lover. Martinez doesn't have to say that in her piece. All she does is mention the note, the baby boots, the toothpaste. Her prose, though straightforward and brief, is very delicate, operates on inference and suggestion. It's almost coy. She lets the reader come to conclusions about what these people went through, yet she makes sure that whatever conclusion it is, it isn't a pretty one. She guides you only so far, but makes sure you get to an assumption appropriate for the subject, without risking a "choose your own ending" kitsch that a lot of elusive prose can do.
No comments:
Post a Comment