July, July

Tim O'Brien

ISBN 10: 0618258124 ISBN 13: 9780618258123

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Audio, 2002

Synopsis

Old friends share memories of the past, current regrets, and future plans as they gather on a July weekend for the thirtieth reunion of Darton Hall College's class of 1969.

About this title

About the Author

TIM O’BRIEN received the 1979 National Book Award in fiction for Going After Cacciato. His other works include the acclaimed novels The Things They Carried and July, July. In the Lake of the Woods received the James Fenimore Cooper Prize from the Society of American Historians and was named the best novel of 1994 by Time. O’Brien lives in Austin, Texas.

Reviews

Like The Big Chill, National Book Award winner O'Brien's latest novel is about a group of college students from the radical days of the late 1960s. Assembled years later, the friends and acquaintances go through the usual motions of reminiscing, regretting, lusting, laughing and crying. Unlike the gang from that 1983 movie, though, this group is not brought together to mourn the death of a mutual friend but rather a 30-year class reunion. Yet they're still mourning, lamenting their lost youth, vibrancy, ideals, looks and health. Among the ruins, however, they find old friends, common struggles and rekindled passions. Although this is more a group of interwoven short stories or character studies than a traditional novel, O'Brien (The Things They Carried) fully fleshes out each character with aplomb. Actor and experienced audiobook reader Sanders offers a smooth and knowing delivery. His cynical, dry, yet humorous tone perfectly matches O'Brien's prose. The surface of this comic tale seems jaded and despairing, but sympathy, camaraderie, solidarity and love run deeply throughout.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Jay O. Sanders does not attempt different voices for different characters, yet he modulates his tones so skillfully that you always know who is speaking and why. Known for his books on the Vietnam War, Tim O'Brien is a master of language, but he's decided to spend this novel at a sadly dispiriting event, the 30th college reunion of the class of 1969. The survivors are back at Darnton Hall. Somebody's put up cardboard stars. Also on display: failed marriages, cancer, obesity, and dismemberment. Everybody gets drunk. Everybody gets maudlin. "People get what they imagine," says one character. "To hell with Weight Watchers," thinks another. "We were happy once," they tell each other. They don't believe it. Neither will you. B.H.C. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

The 30th reunion of Darton Hall College gives O'Brien the chance to play with a host of troubled characters. If you think you've seen this before, you're right: it was excerpted in The New Yorker and Esquire.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Audio
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0618258124
• ISBN 13: 9780618258123
• Binding: Audio Cassette