by Tim O’Brien
233 pages
I chose this book for many reasons. 1. I have a friend who teaches it in junior English and it always sounded pretty interesting. 2. I’m not really into war books and wanted to get this out of the way. I enjoy the movies, but I have only read one other war book before (Black Hawk Down) and probably only enjoyed it because I could visualize it thanks to the movie. 3. Because it’s a book taught at school, I could get it for free.
I’d also like to clarify that this book might not be considered a “novel,” but I had it in my head that the category was “A Book set During Wartime,” and it was too late to change it when I realized I was wrong. The book is described as a collection of short stories but they are all tied together and told by a common narrator (Tim O’Brien himself), so it has a sort of novel feel. It has also been described as a bit of both.
Although I’m not a big war literature fan, and went into it just wanting to get it out of the way, I actually really enjoyed the book. I like that the chapters all tell different stories. The characters continue throughout, but almost every chapter can stand on its own. This style really helped to move the book along. I also really liked that O’Brien often broke the fourth wall and talked to his reader about what was happening. He combined his real-life experiences in Vietnam with some fiction.
One of my favorite parts of this book was when O’Brien talks to us about the differences between made up truths and real truths. He could tell us something happened and that might be true. However, there is a much different effect on the audience when some parts of the story are made up. Adding compassion to the story allows for a different kind of truth. I also really liked this chapter called “How to Tell a True War Story.” In this chapter he talks about the previously mentioned idea, but he also does more. He mentions that if you are listening to a story and ask “Is that true?”, then maybe it doesn’t matter. I thought about that as I read, and thought “Is this book true?” but then I thought, it doesn’t matter if the story is true because the raw emotions are true. I liked this aspect.
Sorry, I guess I should give a little more of the story. The title, The Things They Carried, refers to the things carried by the soldiers. The opening chapter discusses all of the things that were carried. It goes into great detail about the physical items that the men carried: tools, food, ammo, etc. It goes further into describing the things they carried that cannot be seen. The grief and fear and courage and so on. This was really cool to me too. From there, O’Brien tells stories about the different men he met and friends he made. Each man he met has a very distinct personality. Each has a different reaction to the horrors they face. He tells stories about things that happened to them and things that they saw. He also tells a story about all of the emotions he went through when he was first drafted. Again, I don’t know how much truth there is in this book, in these stories, but that isn’t the point. They feel real.
Ultimately, I think this is a very real book (even if it isn’t). If you are into war stories, or even just into reading about raw human emotions, then you should read this book.
4 Stars