The Things They Carried
Ratings255
Average rating4.1
While these short stories surrounding the Vietnam War are fictional, Tim O'Brien's previous experience as a soldier makes them feel real. And that's part of the point of the book; in the short story “How to Tell a True War Story”, O'Brien explores verisimilitude, or how something can both be fiction but seem true:
“In any war story, but especially a true one, it's difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen. What seems to happen becomes its own happening and has to be told that way... ...The pictures get jumbled; you tend to miss a lot. And then afterward, when you go to tell about it, there is always that surreal seemingness, which makes the story seem untrue, but which in fact represents the hard and exact truth as it seemed.”
seems
“What stories can do, I guess, is make things present. I can look at things I never looked at. I can attach faces to grief and love and pity and God. I can be brave. I can make myself feel again.”
Stunning. Absolutely stunning. And heartbreaking, and a very true, visceral portrait of the Vietnam War as written by a man who lived through it. Probably in my top ten.
I read this book in high school for my english class and it turned out to be one of the best books I've ever read. The way it's written is unique, SPOILER ALERT the fact that the narrator admits most of the book is a lie is just fascinating to me. I love the idea that a story cannot truly capture a moment without lying about the details. Overall it's just an amazing book and I would read it again and again.
Stories based on Tim O'Brien's service in the Vietnam War. Difficult to read, but so beautifully written. In our book club discussion, we pondered how many of these stories were likely to be factually true vs. conveying the truth of the experience of being an American soldier in the Vietnam war.
Summary: This book is a series of stories about the American soldiers of the Alpha Company who fought in the Vietnam War. The stories include tales from the war as well as what life was like after the soldiers returned home. The book gives a heartbreaking and emotionally gripping look into the lives and minds of the men who have been scarred by the things they have witnessed in war.
Sad and tragic stories. Đọc mới thấy chiến tranh kinh khủng ra sao từ cả hai phía. Truyện về kháng chiến chống Mỹ dưới góc nhìn của cựu chiến binh Mỹ (bên Mỹ gọi là Vietnam War). Sự thật kinh khủng khiếp và nỗi ám ảnh mà những người lính phải trải qua.
Tim expressed a lot of things I've felt myself. Things that I don't think I could have put into words or knew that others felt.
Great anti war novel but some things were too repetitive.
There was a song TV girl based on this book.
Characters were interning but a bit bland.
I liked the impacts of war on characters like Henry Dobbins.
Good representation of war.
Not much to say. Didn't hit hard but also wasn't too bad.
the best book i've ever read after the little prince. i read it for the first time in a day. on the rainy river is my fav story by far, i read it at the right time and a moment in my life when i felt for the first time truly understood. i come back to this book all the time, probably reread it like 50 times at this point.
A visceral exploration of the author's own experiences in “Nam” juxtaposed with those with whom he .
A visceral exploration of the author's own experiences in “Nam” juxtaposed with those with whom he .
definitely in my top 5 books that school has led me to read,, ever,,
i laughed, i cried, i full on sobbed, it was gut-wrenching but so so so good
really excited to teach this this coming school year and experience it all over again
I've had mixed emotions about this book from start to finish. It's been sitting on my shelf for over a year now and I was excited to finally get to it. There were times I wanted to put it down because it was too gruesome (I know, that comes with war) and vulgar. Then other times I lost all concept of time because I was so enthralled with the story.
Overall, I found the story repetitive in parts and difficult to follow in other areas. It did add to the tone of the book which I can appreciate. The emulation of the madness of a soldier's mental state after the war wasn't lost on me. It's definitely played on my own emotions which is a telltale sign of good writing. I'll definitely need a break from war stories for a little while though. So many things are left unfinished leaving an empty knot in my stomach. The book even has a passage that mentions this feeling. The constant question of what's true and what's untrue adds to this. Again, good writing.
I struggled with how many stars to give this book. I wish there was an option for 4 1/2. There were times where I felt I was being lectured and being told I'm a fool to think any differently from the narrator. I don't care for that kind of reading. Fortunately the spots were few and far between, but they were there.
Funny yet extremely scary. Definitely made me think about military a bit differently
I had a little bit of trepidation in staying this book. I didn't know what to expect and, as an American, in this historic moment I'm not in the mood for more American testosterone celebration. Luckily this book is a lyric masterpiece that expresses many thing about we and life that are deeply personal without pride or ego. The style of writing is superb and original with great rythm. I listened to the audiobook that in to of everything has a fantastic reading performance by Bryan Cranston
A well written book. I read the Audible edition which had the author read a 1994 article about his return to Vietnam years latter. The most disturbing part related to current events, was when a former Vietcong soldier explained that the American troops were easy to kill. Bright Green uniforms, lots of equipment so they couldn't hide. The Vietcong wanted to kill the ARVN. When they died or deserted there would be no justification for America to stay. So the disturbing question I have now is the reason that we have troops around the world in areas of conflict is as decoys. We aren't there to win since we don't even have any idea of what victory is. Are we there just to distract the enemy into killing us instead of the local army?
“In June of 1968, after graduating from Macalester College, I was drafted to fight a war I hated. I was 21 years old. Young, yes, and politically naive, but even so, the American war in Vietnam seemed to me wrong. Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons...“
This story is a frank account about the author's experiences in the war and his observations on how it shaped the rest of the men of Alpha Company. He survives the war and years later goes back to Vietnam to pay honor to those in Alpha who didn't. “It was very sad, he thought. The things men carried inside. The things men did or felt they had to do.”
Fortunately, I never fought in a war. My brothers and other loved ones haven't either. With that said, I want to thank those who have - the ones mandated by the government, and the ones who have out of a sense of duty. Thank you. It is because of you that I've lived a happy and fulfilling life and I hope that you do too. You, above anyone else, deserves it most of all. And for those who weren't as fortunate to make it back home, let us not forget them. Let's keep them alive by sharing their stories, their dreams and aspirations. Their quirks and vulnerabilities. Their smiles. Their joy for life. For as the author points out: “...in a story, which is a kind of dreaming, the dead sometimes smile and sit up and return to the world.”
The first chapter of Tim O'Brien's “The Things They Carried” is riveting - putting some hard perspective on the front-end of a very personal set of short stories that are otherwise difficult to explain using hard facts. The novel isn't autobiographical but it is written as though it were non-fiction, drawing inspiration from the authors personal experiences in Vietnam. These are deep and metaphysical journeys into the souls of the soldiers involved. This isn't a novel about the war, but more about what war does to human beings. One of my favourite chapters takes place well before the war, as draft dodger struggles with his decision to skip the border to Canada. Not every chapter is quite this engaging, but overall there's a wonderful arc to this book, and O'Brien has a wonderful way of talking about the violence of war without descending into cliche or melodrama.
A “book about war” for the Read Harder Challenge. Again, books about war are not a category I would seek out (the point of the challenge, obvi), but this book is riveting.
I read the first chapter of this in an English class (high school maybe?) and for some reason I thought “The Things They Carried” was just a standalone short story? But I remembered LOVING the short story. And then, embarrassingly late in the game, I realized there's a whole book of it. It's all amazing. Beautifully written & unafraid to tackle huge human truths. Highly recommended (if you didn't already know that this was a book).
This is a great book. I was hesitant to read it because I am not interested in the Vietnam war. Once I started, however, I was hooked. Great, interesting writing. Thought-provoking. Insightful. Highly recommend!
Memorable stories. Vivid language. Brilliant structure. I imagine this is one of those war books that people who passionately hate war books can tolerate, if not enjoy.
O'Brien's straddling the line of fiction and non-fiction is done skillfully and makes this book what it is. This is all true, he tells the reader, but it's not. Except that it is. Commentary on “what is truth” aside, I have a feeling many of O'Brien's Vietnam stories are more true than he leads on.
Despite having enjoyed The Things They Carried I doubt I will return to Tim O'Brien anytime soon. His other novels largely deal with the same subject and it's been so masterfully done in this one that the others would pale in comparison.