“Flash Fiction” refers to a short story that is written using 300 to 1000 words. Flash Fiction stories are known for their brevity therefore choice of words is crucial. In “Fatal Light” Richard Currey uses concise language to tell his stories. This novel benefits from flash fiction form of writing because similarly the Vietnam War also consisted of many different events and which happened quickly. Each day was different and soldiers did not know whether they would be alive the next day or the next hour. Each chapter represents different stages of the soldier’s experience. The story went from the protagonist being home in the US to being drafted to Vietnam, to being sick in the hospital to Saigon and then finally home to the US.
Currey effectively uses flash fiction to depict the life of US soldiers through the various stages. Currey creates a universal story instead of telling the story through the lens of only one specific character. Many soldiers left girlfriends, grandparents, parents and friends just as main character of this story did. Each chapter describes a different event. The book jumps around from one topic to another to portray the extremity of war and to show how each day was different for the US soldiers. Therefore using a form of flash fiction accurately depicts the lives of the US soldiers in the Vietnam War.
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