The Things They Carried

A classic work of American literature that has not stopped changing minds and lives since it burst onto the literary scene, The Things They Carried is a ground-breaking meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling. 
 
The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three.
 
Taught everywhere—from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writing—it has become required reading for any American and continues to challenge readers in their perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, courage and fear and longing.

The Things They Carried won France's prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

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The first-person narrator of this book (named, like the author, Tim O'Brien) is a writer and combat veteran of the Vietnam War. The book actually deals with events before and after the war, in addition to depicting the war itself; the time span covers more than 30 years in the lives of O'Brien and his fellow soldiers.

"The Things They Carried" is an intensely "writerly" text. By that I mean that O'Brien and his characters often reflect directly on the activities of storytelling and writing. As a reader, I got the sense that I was being invited into the very process by which the book was created. This is an extraordinary technique, and O'Brien pulls it off brilliantly.

This being a war story, there are some truly disturbing, graphic, and violent scenes. But there are also scenes that are haunting, funny, surreal, or ironic. O'Brien depicts a memorable group of soldiers: the guilt-wracked Lieut. Cross; Kiowa, a Native American and devout, Bible-carrying Baptist; the sadistic but playful Azar; and more.

While this book is a complete and cohesive work of art, many of its component stories could stand alone as independent pieces of literature (in fact, I first encountered the title story in an anthology). But however you classify it, I consider "The Things They Carried" to be a profoundly moving masterpiece.

162 of 172 found the following review helpful:

A MasterpieceFeb 09, 2001
By Justin Evans
I was first introduced to this book as part of a U.S. & Vietnam History course in college. The other novel the course required was The Quiet American by Graham Greene. Tim O'Brien's book is every bit as good as Greene's, and all the more timely.

As a former soldier, and a veteran of Desert Storm, whose father avoided the draft during the Vietnam War, the book taught me that no matter what other people say about the war, no matter what I learn, I can never make any value judgements on an individual level. I was not there, and for better or worse, I am only a specator.

I am currently re-reading the book, which I often use in teaching my creative writing class. I share the story-chapter, "Style" every year with my students. I also find the book essential to learn about the nature of fiction, which O'Brien challenges with every page of this book.

For anyone looking for a book to read on the Vietnam experience, this book makes my short list every time. Not only of "Vietnam" books, but of any book worth reading. This book is simply essential.

108 of 115 found the following review helpful:

A Vietnam Primer for a 1969 baby...Apr 03, 2000
By Daniel T. Barkowitz
I was born in 1969. I missed Vietnam. The war was over and I never knew about it. For an event that had such significance in American history, it was as though it had never happened.

When I was in High School and we studied American History, our class always ended with WWII. We never discussed "modern" events -- the 60s, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement.

When I got to college, I made a point of taking a class on the 60s. Still though, I gained a textbook introduction to the Vietnam war -- I never had a true sense of what the horror was, why people protested, why it was such an important historical event. My generation has never faced a war in which we were drafted to fight.

And then I read "The Things they Carried"...

This book was/is an education for me. Visceral, haunting, provoking, gripping -- the stories Tim O'Brien tells rip into you. He puts you on the front line facing the man you just killed -- on the Canadian border deciding that you aren't brave enough to escape to Canada to avoid the draft -- back in Vietnam watching your best buddy slowly sink into a field of mud as sniper fire rains all around you -- back at home with no sense of purpose surrounded by people who don't know how to welcome you home.

This book is the best education on Vietnam this literal child of the 60s ever received.

If, like me, you don't understand what all the fuss is about, read this book and you will...

42 of 45 found the following review helpful:

Turns you inside out !Feb 29, 2000
By S. Riley
I am writing this review about a month or so after having read it. I am a veteran of the Vietnam war and after serving two tours with the U.S. Navy in the Mekong Delta..found this book to be very good at pulling you inside out...taking someone who hasn't been there and transporting you to walk the trails and carry the weight of being a soldier.

Tim O'Brien is an outstanding author, he captures your imagination and doesn't let go until his fasinating stories have drained you of any resistance against reading on till the end. I'm not a big reader and certainly NOT into war books. But this book tells so much more about the characters lives and how they were forever impacted by there experiences. I have recommended to some fellow comrades who also served in the Nam to read it. My own personal experiences still haunt me, the memories and nightmares continue..and reliving some of the experiences though somewhat different...the "feel" of Mr. O'Brien's book, has given me a somehow more settled attitude. I highly recommend that anyone who has either been to war, know's or is related to anyone who served in the Nam or any other war...do yourself a big favor ~ READ THIS BOOK! Don't miss it...it's worth every minute spent.

A real winner!

65 of 75 found the following review helpful:

Great Literary Piece, Not a Vietnam War Memoir ThoughJul 13, 2007
By Thomas O. Morrison
Based on the reviews and as a history teacher I approached this book looking for a war memoir wrapped in a literary masterpiece. Our English department has the students read this book around the same time the history department covers the history/politics/etc of the Vietnam War.

The book itself is a literary masterpiece, melding various literary techniques into a gripping and compelling read that students and adults will enjoy. In that regard, I'd give it 4.5 stars.

However, from a historical perspective, it fails in my opinion. The stories are gripping, and range from unusual to bizarre and often. Just as he convinces you that it may have happened, he tells you it didn't. The book really doesn't get into a lot of detail of how troops served and suffered in Vietnam, nor does it get into any historical or political significance of the war, nor does it even present a real detailed view of the veterans' tribulations afterwards. In short, this book is more a literary work designed for interesting reading than for any deep discussion of the Vietnam War. If you approach this book looking for a war memoir, skip it. On that note, I'd rate it a 0 or a 1. I'll compromise and rate it a 3 overall.

From a teaching perspective, the ease of reading, the smooth literary skills, and the wild stories all make this book a great entry for students thinking about the Vietnam War. They come into history class with lots of questions after reading this book and it opens up a lot of great discussion and teaching opportunities. Well worth reading as an introduction to Vietnam but people with an existing and/or deep knowledge of the military history of the Vietnam War need to know that the War takes a back seat to the literary storytelling exercise this book is.

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