While ostensibly a war novel, OBrien's book in great part explores the paradox of fiction i.e. how a fictional lie can be more truthful than the actual event. We studied the chapter entitled"How to Tell a True War Story" and listed the author's criteria for a true story. We explored how ironically imaginative invention portrays war better than the recitation of the actual events . I explained that the author argues that a true war story has no moral, no clear ending ,and can only be felt in the gut. For those who have not experienced war, the author submits that only through inventing certain events can he convey the horror and randomness of his experiences. As the author is a central character in the novel, we noted how it becomes difficult to distinguish fiction from historical truth as the author so vividly depicts a war scene only to acknowedge later that the entire story is invented but therefore true.