Going After CacciatoGoing After Cacciato
Score Classic
What it's about
In Vietnam in 1968, a soldier named Cacciato simply walks away from the war, announcing he's going to Paris. His squad is sent after him. On a long, lonely night on guard duty, another soldier, Paul Berlin, imagines the chase: across Asia, through India and Iran, all the way to Paris, mixed with memories of the real war.
Why it's worth reading
It won the National Book Award. It's a dreamlike, inventive novel about war and the imagination, by the author of The Things They Carried.
You'll love it if you liked
The Things They Carried
Catch-22
DispatchesGood to know
It mixes realism and fantasy without warning. There's war violence.
By the numbers
- Readers28 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics63 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller5 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #273 of the 459 fantasy books we rank
- #529 of the 762 classics we rank
- #1837 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Adventurous, Epic
More by Tim O'Brien
If you like this, read next
The Lord of the Rings
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Godfather
The Pillars of the Earth
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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Quick answers
Is Going After Cacciato worth reading?
Yes. It won the National Book Award. It ranks #1,837 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 65.3 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Going After Cacciato about?
In Vietnam in 1968, a soldier named Cacciato simply walks away from the war, announcing he's going to Paris. His squad is sent after him. On a long, lonely night on guard duty, another soldier, Paul Berlin, imagines the chase: across Asia, through India and Iran, all the way to Paris, mixed with memories of the real war.
How long does it take to read Going After Cacciato?
About 9 hours (351 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has Going After Cacciato won?
National Book Award (Fiction) winner (1979).
What should I read after Going After Cacciato?
If you liked it, try The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller or Dispatches by Michael Herr.