The Things They Carried
by Tim O'Brien
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Book Reviews of The Things They Carried
Book Review: The Things They Carried
Summary: 5 Stars
Tim O'Brien's novel, The Things They Carried is not a novel for the casual reader; every page leaves you questioning the nature of truth and reality. O'Brien is an enigmatic author who can beguile the interest of any who wish to travel down the arduous road of introspection he lays through his powerful, unmitigated prose. His style is in itself a paradox while at times speaking with marvelous perspicuity and at others being inexplicably digressive, yet it is in this apparent contradiction that his genius lies. The juxtaposition of digression and lines of striking clarity is congruent with his description of the war. For O'Brien the war was mostly mundane yet when it heated up; he came alive and came to know himself on a deeper level than ever before. His novel is structured like the war he describes within it; although a large portion is devoted to the mundane details of the war, he incorporates lines of striking profundity in such a way that makes the reader question their core beliefs.
Obrien's novel is often characterized as an anti-war novel and while this rings true the novel is much more than that; it is also a challenge to many antiquated rules of English writing. Obrien's picaresque style and changing perspective is unique in its disregard for standard conventions and ads to the already powerful prose of the novel. The Things They Carried is the Holden Caulfield of modern literature; it rejects established norms and explores how it can, or cannot, fit into pre-determined conventions. The novel itself vacillates between fiction and non-fiction and leaves the reader questioning where the truth of the novel lies.
While the overall genre of the book is a topic of discussion it seems clear that book can be considered an anti-war novel. O'Brien never flagrantly opposes the war as a whole but the story of Kiowa and Norman Bowker pluck at the heart strings of the reader with the intensity of (insert reference here). Obrien's novel is inundated with personal anecdotes from various perspectives in both the first and third person which serve to demonize the very nature of war. In one of his most blatant oppositions to war O'Brien explains that the cause of any war is to avoid the "blush of dishonor." The Things They Carried seeks to educate any who will listen of the true implications and consequences of going to war and goes against the quixotic, propagandistic pro-war novels that were so common just a few decades ago.
The quality of the prose coupled with the unique style renders The Things They Carried a part of a new type of literature drawing from the principles of post-modernism in an effort to dispel the myths of war that are still prevalent in today's society. This novel challenges all previously held beliefs about the honor of war and goes as far as to suggest that courage lies not in the willingness of someone to go to war but in the courage it takes to remain firmly opposed to it. This novel has significance not only for the readers of today but for the readers of the future especially in a society where the outbreak of total war could easily culminate in the slaughter of millions of people.
Book Review: Huzzah. Read, Love Life, Lather, Rinse, Repeat.
Summary: 5 Stars
Vietnam, alongside war in general, has been absolutely bludgeoned to death by writers far and wide; Tim O'Brien has already taken a few cracks at capturing the foliage-filled steam room masquerading as a country, with varying degrees of success. I guess practice makes perfect. Having Olympic-sized pools of talent probably doesn't hurt, either. Tim O'Brien's storytelling has the visceral, poetic grit and earnest candor of a Springsteen lyric circa 1978. He wants to make you feel. Analyzing and higher-order thinking are secondary and tertiary functions; reminding us that we are emotional, reactive animals appears to be a personal jihad of his. The Things They Carried really is art.
The extra-amazing facet of O'Brien's accomplishment is as follows: most writers only tell one or two stories per book. Few of them do it well. Fewer still do it brilliantly. Only one (that I'm presently aware of) does it brilliantly twenty-two times. I can't recall being disappointed about a single one of the short stories that comprise The Things They Carried. You'd think that twenty-two `Nam stories would probably be pretty excessive, right? That's downright sepulchral. I mean, who wants to watch Platoon, Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, We Were Soldiers, and Born on the Fourth of July back to back to back to back to back, right? Nope. You'd be comprehensively wrong. Bay of Pigs wrong. Not because watching those films would make for an awesome Friday night (they wouldn't), but because Tim O'Brien looks at life like a lottery he's rigging for you. The man can flat-out compose, and the flow of his arrangements could procure simultaneous blushes from Rachmaninoff and Martha Stewart.
O'brien's redefinition of "truth" in literature signifies the cracking of the 23rd egg in his epic omelet of neo-classical literature. He states that "truth" hinges on a "true telling," and is only achieved if the stomach is made to believe. Despite the fact that he did fight in Vietnam, all of his stories are pure, uncut fiction. Upon discovering this, his point is solidified: not one word felt less grave than before. The meaning was perfectly preserved, because he doesn't want the reader to know exactly what happened, he wants the reader to know exactly how what was felt during the actual events. War seems to evoke a particular fascination in people that osmoses through anything it comes in contact with, leaving it with a certain aura that demands awe from those who experience it vicariously. That aura, a lucid combination of life, death, love, hate, elation, rage, and whatever other polar emotions the mind can register, is O'Brien's truth. Your eyes can lie to you. Is what you're seeing really orange, or do you just think it is because that's what you've been told your whole life? Your ears can lie to you. It takes a tenfold increase in volume before most people think that it has doubled. You can plug your nose and taste disappears. But O'Brien can connect with you on an inalienable level, making you feel the bedrock of your humanity; that was his goal, his truth. Practice makes perfect. Cinco Estrellas.
Book Review: Beautiful, moving, breathtaking
Summary: 5 Stars
There are times, when I read a novel; for school, for recreation, for no reason at all, when I am left absolutely speechless upon its conclusion. Sometimes, I truly feel as if I have no critical analysis to put forth, no comments to voice, no articulate way to express the impression which a piece of literature has left upon me. Sometimes, I feel as if a novel is so unforgettably powerful in itself that to attempt to analyze it, to summarize its impact or to critically dissect its thematic undertones, is essentially futile, and in a sense lessens the author's intention in writing the novel. I feel that, sometimes, novels are written not to necessarily invoke social change, or to invite thematic itemisation and analysis, or to generate any sort of response; but are written to simply tell a story; written to be listened to. Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, in my opinion, is one of such novels. I read it, through tears; gripped by its poignancy, its honesty, its vulnerability, its cathartic expression. O'Brien tells his story. He tells the stories of those who no longer have a voice. He paints a vivid, unembellished painting of the most morally confusing and emotionally devastating event in American history. I am absolutely blown away by his story; by his ability to so eloquently articulate the powerful and intangible effects of war on the individual. I am awe-stricken by the validity of his paradoxical reflections about the concept of war. I am moved by his focus on the understanding of the human experience of the Vietnam War; and not its political controversy or fundamental morality. I cried for those men who fell both physically and mentally, whose characters O'Brien humanized, and brought home, and did justice. I felt, as an outsider, that I came as close as externally possible to understanding the devastation and anguish felt by Jimmy Cross, and the hopelessness of the solitary suffocation that plagued Norman Bowker in the years following the war. I was saddened by the Lord-of-the-Flies-esque fall of innocence of Mary Anne Bell and the tragic senselessness of the deaths of Kiowa, Ted Lavender, and Curt Lemon. Most of all, however, I was forever touched. I was touched by O'Brien's compelling and conclusive belief, spoken through the character of Linda, that "Once you're alive, you can't ever be dead" (244). In that fleeting sentence, I think that O'Brien gives his story, his life and the lives of his friends', resonance. To tell one's story is to give one life. With a story, immortality is created. Those men whose lives were so abruptly and tragically ended are given rebirth. Those men do not fade quietly into the night; their stories give them presence and liberation; they are forever alive. In the last sentence of the novel, O'Brien is "skimming across the surface of my own history ... doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy's life with a story." His story soothes his spirit. The `things they carried', are their memories. Their memories are all that endure.Book Review: As good as war stories get
Summary: 5 Stars
In The Things They Carried, the famous quote spoken by Erasmus,"war is more delightful to those who have never experienced it," is for the first time truly justified. Kids will always play video games pertaining to war and watch films dealing with war. To many of these kids, war can be seen as a normal and not-so-bad occurrence. However, rarely is the common man permitted to enter the mind of a soldier before, during and after a war. In The Things They Carried, we are not only allowed to do so, but rather as soon as the stories begin, it is hard to not do so.
The Things They Carried features Vietnam war stories of all angles, that for the first time bring all elements of life into a soldier's mind. Things like sex, drugs and accordingly violence are brought to us in a simple yet shocking manner. Many people are surprised that a soldier would think about these things. But after reading The Things They Carried, you begin to think to yourself, why is this surprising? Normal individuals ponder about sex and drugs at some point in their lives and considering that soldiers are simply normal individuals just occupying their time with something different, why should we be appalled when they speak of sex and drugs? These are the types of effects that The Things They Carried will have on you. You will not only view war differently, but rather the soldiers of war differently. The Things They Carried demonstrates just how normal soldiers are. They are our uncles, brothers and fathers. They show just as much remorse over killing somebody as me and you would. They shoot off their toes in order to be sent home. They don't like where they are. Some are even forced to be there.
Tim O'brien features both true stories and an interesting mix of fiction. However, anyone who understands war, will realize that nothing in this book is far-fetched. Tim O'brien successfully uses the fiction to make stories realistic and possible, even though we aren't sure if they are true or not. The mix of fiction and non-fiction causes readers to wonder if this past story was true or not and will leave you wondering about it for days. No matter how much you analyze of it, you can never be truly certain.
If their was one thing to be changed about the book, I would like to have the fiction and non-fiction clarified somehow. While analyzing them all by myself was great theater and I truly did enjoy that aspect of the book, I still would like to be certain on some of the stories that I am currently uncertain about. Ultimately however, this flaw is easy to look past. The Things They Carried is as good as war tales come, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the art of war. With that in mind, if your maturity level is at a low, the violence, sex and drugs may be too much for you. If this is the case, I would advise you to skip this book for a couple of years, and then come back to it. It will truly make you think about Ben Franklin's famous quote stating, "There has never been good war or bad Peace."
Book Review: The Things They Carried
Summary: 4 Stars
The Things They CarriedWritten by Tim O'Brien
By Jakob Schenker
I highly recommend this book if you like non fictional war stories. This is a great book that describes Vietnam through the author's eyes, who was a soldier in Vietnam. Twenty years later after the war he writes many of his memories and feelings about the war that make it seem real again. He writes about his most memorable experiences and really retells how Vietnam was and how people reacted to it. I recommend this book because it accurately shows the feelings soldiers had to go through and their perspective about war and Vietnam.
Throughout the entire book you feel the perspective of Tim O'Brien because he accurately tells everything through his mind and shows all of his emotions. I like the way this is written because you get to understand a lot more of how Tim dealt with the war in general. "I couldn't walk or sit; I couldn't sleep... The stiff thump of the bullet, like a fist, the way it knocks the air out of you and makes you cough, how the sound of the gunshot arrives about ten years later..." (O'Brien 218). This is Tim talking about when he first got shot and how he felt afterwards. He goes in depth about how he felt and it makes his story become more lifelike. "They transferred me over to Headquarters Company... for the first time in months I felt reasonably safe... I didn't complain... There were times when I missed the adventure, even the danger, of the real war out in the boonies" (219). This is also Tim talking about being safe but also in a way missing the war because of the war experience that kept him fighting. To get the real feeling that you are in the shoes of a soldier in the war, you should read this book.
When Tim retells stories there is great detail in his writing. It engaged me to keep reading because the descriptions made the stories more complex and more interesting. The detail he adds to his stories makes them more real and helps to make the story better. "His jaw was in his throat, his upper lip and teeth were gone, his one eye shut, his other eye was a star-shaped hole, his eyebrows were thin and arched like a woman's, his nose was undamaged..." (139). This is Tim talking about the man he killed and what had happened to him. This mans face is put into full detail and makes you think about the person. This kind of detail makes you picture what the book is saying and it is helpful when he does that. This book goes in depth and describes many things well which makes the book more lifelike.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes nonfiction stories about a war experience. Tim O'Brien is very good at retelling his war stories in his perspective and in very good description. This book is very effective at putting the reader in Tim's shoes while he tells his most memorable stories because he provides his exact thoughts and feelings. You should read this book if you would like to see what Tim, a soldier from Vietnam, experienced and his feelings and thoughts about the war.