Tim O'Brien · 1978 · overland

Tim O'Brien's 1978 novel, winner of the National Book Award. In the middle of the Vietnam War, a simple soldier named Cacciato lays down his rifle and walks away, announcing that he is going to Paris, eight thousand miles on foot. His squad is sent to bring him back, and what follows blurs memory, terror, and pure imagination into a surreal march clear across Asia and Europe.

1. 1
   Vietnam

   In the middle of the war, the dim and gentle Cacciato simply walks away, saying he means to walk to Paris.

2. 2
   Mandalay

   His squad sets out after him, west out of the war and into the jungles of Burma.

3. 3
   Delhi

   Across the whole width of India.

4. 4
   Kabul

   Through the high passes of Afghanistan.

5. 5
   Tehran

   Over the deserts of Persia.

6. 6
   Istanbul

   To the very edge of Europe at Istanbul.

7. 7
   Paris

   And on, impossibly, dream and reality entangled, all the way to Paris.