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Northern Lights
by
Tim O'Brien
Originally published in 1975, Tim O'Brien's debut novel demonstrates the emotional complexity and enthralling narrative tension that later earned him the National Book Award. At its core is the relationship between two brothers: one who went to Vietnam and one who stayed at home. As the two brothers struggle against an unexpected blizzard in Minnesota's remote north woods,...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
September 1st 1999
by Broadway
(first published 1975)
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I found this book while on vacation-someone had left it behind where I was staying, so I picked it up. I'd never read any (nor heard of) Tim O'Brien, and I really like his writing. This is a bit of a "plotless" book--nothing much happens, and at the end I still didn't really understand these characters or their relationships, but that seems to be sort of the point. Clearly the brother Harvey's experience in Vietnam has scarred and changed him, but I think even the brother who stayed home is scar...more
"Pretty good take on people in general. main charactor spends most of his time being depressed until his brother Harvey talks him into snow skiing 50 miles home, harvey gets them lost then is deathly ill with pneumonia and Perry has to take over. by the end of the book, Perry is taking chargr of many things, coming out of his depression. bother Harry never stops talking after he is back from Vietnam, repeating himself continuously. Perry's wife Grace is very meek and almost a non character. Perr...more
This book can pretty much be summed up in one word - anticlimatic. I spent the entire time I was reading Northern Lights wondering when the "spellbinding suspense" the Chicago Times Review on the front cover raved about would occur and was disheartened when I reached the end of the novel and it never had. I mean, the characters are likeable enough and the plot has potential... it just goes nowhere. The whole story pretty much consists of Perry and Harvey skiing and sleeping and being cold or hot...more
Pretty good take on people in general. main charactor spends most of his time being depressed, his brother never shuts up, the wife is a placid cow, the mayir is a sarcastic, half-senile old fart, and Addy is a heart-breaking in-your-face brat, I wanted to slap them all. main charactor is also the main hero... and if this is how people in northern Minnesota are perceived after people read this book, I won't tell anyone this is where I live, lol book club book read and to be discussed in Dec. whe...more
Other than lots of drinking, the main story about being lost in the BWCA was a fine story, well wrought, except that it could have been shorter and tighter. However, he used repetition as a device for waning brainpower due to starvation, not a bad trick. Otherwise the book was set up like a set of short stories, and each stood on its own merit.
This book at its heart is about empathy. O'Brien lasting out a harsh blizzard to connect the reader to the main character while using this to connect the main character to his brother's experience of Vietnam, and all of this is connected by an ignorant public opinion that has no empathy for struggle.
What to say about Northern Lights? It's definitely not what I was expecting after I read The Things They Carried. I definitely prefer The Things They Carried over this book. Unless you are into reading about Northern Minnesota and cross country skiing. Survival. PTSD stricken veteran. I think the story would have been a little bit more interesting from the younger brother's perspective. Harvey probably would have had much more interesting thoughts than Paul. I also didn't like being left in the...more
Tim O'Brien is a local beantown writer, so I automatically like him. This book was intentionally slow at times but was still hard to swallow. I just couldn't relate with the characters. Not a horrible read though.
Slow and meandering at times - but the monologues by the different characters were brilliant. I have not read his other novels - yet - and I feel that this one is good enough to hook me in.
This book is beautiful and incredibly poetic. Some of it is just sort of bafflingly smooth and simple and plain ass fucking good. my favorite of his books having read if i die in a combat zone box me up and ship me home, and the things they carried
So it's just a story of people struggling to get by. I liked the writer's style, and can relate to some of the 'muddling along' that is just part of living.
Aug 02, 2011
Linda
added it
I didn't get it. I read the book from cover to cover because I hate to put a book down, but I didn't get Mr. O'Brien's message...strange story.
This book was okay - it is entirely centered around character development rather than a strong plotline. I made it about 100 pages into the novel before deciding I wasn't intrigued enough to continue.
A good book, but lots of "stream-of-consciousness" dialog to get through. I AM intrigued enough to read The Things They Carried though.
O'Brien's first published novel (after the memoir
If I Die in a Combat Zone Box Me Up and Ship Me Home
), and it shows. You can feel him still finding his stylistic feet here. A good read, but an uneven one, and mostly of interest for how it sets the stage for his later work. (The National Book Award-winning
Going After Cacciato
would arrive just three years later.)
I loved The Things They Carried and really thought I would enjoy this, but I just couldn't get into this one. There were moments when the writing style drew me in and then that would go away... I'll still give more of O'brien's work a try, but this one fell short of my expectations.
I honestly was expecting much more from O'Brien. Loved his later books but as a first book this didn't do anything for me. Thank goodness I didn't read this book first because I never would have read his other ones.
I liked this author's other books, but hated this one. I quit reading half way through and I never do that.
Loved The Things They Carried; this one, not so much. Outdoors survival adventure is just not my genre.
My favorite parts were those about the nature and history of NE Minnesota, rather than those about the characters. Tim O'Brien definitely got better over the years.
Tim O'Brien is one of my favorite authors and although I enjoyed this book, it is not one of my favorites amongst his works. The writing is incredible, as his always is, and the dynamic relationship that he portrays between two brothers is very interesting to examine. However, at times the plot seemed to move a little too slowly for me, which is why I think that I have enjoyed some of his other books a bit more. I would say that this book is worth reading since the writing is so good. O'Brien's...more
Not one of O'Brien's best, although he does a great job with the setting.
Jun 17, 2007
Krischelle
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who stew and love adventure (both, not either)
Shelves:
to-reread
This is one of my all time favorite books from one of my all time favorite authors. I can usually count on Tim O'Brien for a good story that I can suck on and turn over in my mouth for a while, but this is one of my top three. (It's hard to rank this against In the Lake of the Woods and Going After Cacciato.) I keep this around for winter lulls and summer molasses because I can always count on it to take me to a dark, crisp, beautiful place where I feel alive and at peace.
Disappointment!
Updated
Interesting perspective in relation to the Vietnam War- one brother goes to war, the other stays home. They deal with the emotions and challenges that surround these circumstances many years later -
So far in this book I have been very fascinated how O' Brien
is putting together his whole story. I won't give away no more then that.
is putting together his whole story. I won't give away no more then that.
I couldn't get into this. It jumped around too much between two brothers and a girl. Kind of strung out and hard to follow. Didn't finish.
Very enjoyable. Interesting look at a Northern midwest family dynamic. Descriptions of nature are also enjoyable.
Northern Lights by Tim O'Brien (1999)
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Tim O'Brien matriculated at Macalester College. Graduation in 1968 found him with a BA in political science and a draft notice.
O'Brien was against the war but reported for service and was sent to Vietnam with what has been called the "unlucky" Americal division due to its involvement in the My Lai massacre in 1968, an event which figures prominently in In the Lake of the Woods. He was assigned to...more
More about Tim O'Brien...
O'Brien was against the war but reported for service and was sent to Vietnam with what has been called the "unlucky" Americal division due to its involvement in the My Lai massacre in 1968, an event which figures prominently in In the Lake of the Woods. He was assigned to...more
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“Everything was such a damned nice idea when it was an idea.”
—
27 people liked it
“I guess we're really brothers, aren't we? Don't know what that means, except it means that some of the same things we remember.”
—
9 people liked it
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Dec 31, 2012 03:37pm