First Impressions

"He remembered kissing her good night at the dorm door. Right then, he thought, he sould've done something brave. He should've carried her up the stairs to her room and tied her to the bed and touched that left knee all night long. He should've risked it." -- Page 4

I liked Jimmy.  I really did.  He was a hopeless romantic who brought along with him a crush from an entirely far-away life.  Although having read only the first few pages of the book, I had emotionally invested myself in the outcome of First Lieutenant Cross, the likely protagonist of the book.  That is, until the quote above unfolded on the pages of my newly-ordered The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, still wafting off that Amazon new book smell.  It was at that moment that I realized Jimmy was not the main character.  I mean, how could he be?  A perverted potential rapist who eye-fondles a picture of some girl he hasn't seen in who knows how long?  I'm not buying it.  I only hope my disappointment at this first character does not signal doom for the rest of the book.  We shall see.