Elegance and O’Brien’s The Nuclear Age

Now I’m not a book reviewer by any means. I don’t consider myself particularly well-read, but I’ve got my favorites. I was introduced to Tim O’Brien early in my college career, and have returned to his books periodically. Critics tend to like him — the quiet, elegant Vietnam writer. Walking through his back-catalog, I just finished The Nuclear Age, and I must say that, like Things…, his prose draws absolutely no attention to itself. No fireworks. Sure, Tim’s got background as a journo. Many do. Perhaps the (irony?) of my O’Brien experience is the disconnect between what I read about and from him. His books fly by; I emerge more often with lingering impressions of the man than of his inventions.