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Summary: Superb Novel
Review: The Things They Carried written by Tim O' Brien was a great book about the Vietnam War. It has been the most exciting book that I have read all year, and probably will read. The action was non-stop, and at the beginning of the book, it puts you right in the middle of the action, it didn't start out slow at all. The author actually describes the things the men carried in significance to the title. While I was reading this book, I felt as if I were there, the author described everything, even the specific weight or size of an individual item, it created the perfect images in your mind. When the author brought up something, he'd come back to it and describe it later on in the book, and not just all at once, so you would keep on reading to find out more about it. I recommend this book to anyone, I think it was a very well written book and I enjoyed reading it very much.-Grant S.
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Summary: The Things They Carried
Review: "By necessity and because it was SOP, they all carried steel helmets that weighed 5 pounds including the liner and camouflage cover"(pg2). After reading this line and analyzing the cover one can assume that its a war novel. If you like war novels, this is the book to read. Through Tim O'Brien different but interesting form of writing in this book, being in little stories of the men, it helps give you an idea on what they are thinking during the hard times of war. By far the most interesting characters would have to be Bobby Jorgenson. This man risks his life for the other men, the medic during the war. If one has never heard of this book or never cared to read a war book, this book has it all. Not only does it contain war stories but also storied of love, family, friends and others. I highly recommend this novel.
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Summary: The Things They Carried
Review: "The Things They Carried"
As you probably know, the Vietnam War (1957-1975) was one of the bloodiest wars in history. This book, "The Things They Carried" is written by Tim O'Brien and is about the Vietnam War. Basically, this book is about a soldier (O'Brien presumably) who goes to Vietnam and as he does his time there, he finds out what war really is. He talks about the things they carried (hence the name of the book), such as hand grenades, mines, mine detectors, and other such devices needed to wage war on the ground. Throughout the book, several people in his outfit die, then he goes back and describes their lives, their personalities, and the like. At several times during the story, he flashes back to when he brought his daughter over to Vietnam after the war. His daughter always asks him, "daddy, did you ever kill anyone?" and, once he did, but he never admits it, even to his daughter. Overall, I liked this book. Once you start reading it gets pretty interesting, and you want to keep reading it. It was full of action, and suspenseful moments at times. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the language. If you have read "The Catcher in the Rye", you know that the language is pretty bad. Well, in this book, it is much worse. Several times in one paragraph, they mention a giant mud pit, which they refer to as "the s--- pit". When the soldier kills someone with a hand grenade, another soldier in his outfit, Azar, says, "you f---in' trashed the f---er." At another point in the game, they are at a village, and two monks invite them in, and clean their guns. This book is pretty good, full of action and suspense, but with talk scenes at some points. I'm not sure if the names of the characters are real, but I guess to protect the men in his unit that are still alive from scrutiny. Some of the names are the aforementioned Azar, Kiowa, and other, sometimes colorful names I can't think of offhand. Almost all of the people he talks about get killed in some way or another. As previously mentioned, Kiowa falls through the muck of a mud pit; one steps on a mine; and another gets shot through the head. The book ends with the soldier looking back on his life (in a different way than he has throughout) and how he's changed from joking about war to seeing what war is really like. Overall, this book is pretty good, with action and talk scenes mixed in, and once you start reading and get past the language, you'll want to read it right to the end.
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Summary: Very good book
Review: "The Things they carried" is a book about Vietnam and the effects it has on people and basically stories about what happened during the war and why they happened. This book gives a massive amount of detail about the war and the feelings of his fellow solders. As the book goes deeper, you start to discover that the title is not ment to be taken literally. It is not just about the physical things, it is also about the mental stuff like morale and feelings. This book goes through each of the people in this squad and tells a little about there past and future and also tells how it affects his life. After I finished this book I had a totally new perspective of what war is like. I though that war was all glory and that there was little fear affecting you, but as Tim O'Brien carefully uses highly detailed descriptions,I figure out that there is a whole other side to it. War dosen't just cause physical stress but mental stress, homesickness, exhaustion, and sickness. Just a few thoughts to get you thinking. I totally recommend thing book to anyone who is interested in war and that really likes very deep descriptions that make you think just a little but further. This book was good from the second I picked it and I know that you will enjoy this book just as much as I did.
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Summary: I feel like I've been to war
Review: I missed being a soldier in Viet Nam by an accident of birth, I was born female. My male classmates in college and law school were shipped off or found ways to avoid the draft. Some went to Canada and one, someone I recently met, went to prison. Had I been a male I'm sure that I would have thought I had to do my duty. So never having gone to war it's hard to imagine how it would really be. Tim O'Brien brings it home in THE THINGS THEY CARRIED. I listened to the audio version and the narrator was excellent. Had I attempted to book, I'm not sure that I would have made it through. Listening to the recording is a moving experience. I've always wanted to go to Viet Nam. After listening to the tape I'm more convinced than ever that I want to go. I want to experience the country. Certainly it will never be like it was for the men who went there during the war. As a single black woman of 59 I often think that the husband that I should have married lost his life in Viet Nam. The war killed of a generation of black men, both physically and mentally. A guy that I used to date is still alive but he lost his soul there. Listening to this tape made me understand the Viet Nam experience in a heart wrenching manner.
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Summary: A Modern War Novel of Merit
Review: I was introduced to this book by my son who is attending school in California. Apparently, the book is on the California school curriculum. Tim O'Brien has written a nicely paced novel that differs greatly from the traditional war story. The novel is essentially a series of short stories that have been loosely tied together. The stories serve to give the reader a feel for Vietnam and the quandaries that the war generated. Was the war right? Should a draftee flee to Canada rather than just simply accept the bloodshed in a civil war that seemed to have no purpose? O'Brien offers no clear answers. Rather he leaves the questions hanging with the reader compelled to come to his or her own conclusions. The novel is not wantonly gruesome as war must often seem to its participants. It is simply a telling of certain events that must have had some impact on the author. Yes, war is hell but lessons can be learned. Tim O'Brien has played his role in this process. The book should be read by a wider audience than just high school students in the USA.
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Summary: steve's review
Review: If you like books about war, especially on Vietnam you will like this book. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien gives you a very realistic incentive on what Vietnam was like. Tim O'Brien is a real Vietnam war veteran, he tells you about his whole experience in Vietnam.
If you read this book it's good to know something about guns and ammunition because is lists for pages and pages of the things they carried. Its about this one platoon and Tim O'Brien is the narrator in the story and the main character. He introduces all the other main characters in the book but there is also more charaters that you will meet later on in the book. The book shows how hard it was for the men, not just fighting but also to travel carrying heavy loads of guns, ammo, personal items, food, medical kits, ect.. Tim gets deeper into the meaning of the things they carried and that the heaviest thing these men carried were their emotions. Every one carried burdens which was their main weakness, and sharing this with each other helps these men to become closer to each other. Carrying the heavy loads of guns and accessories to stay alive, carrying emotions of love for ones at home and other emotions as well, carrying burdens, and also carrying their reputation and pride. Reading this book will change how you feel about war, and take it more serious.
I strongly suggest for everyone, if they ever came across this book, they should read it. Its not just a book for someone who likes war, if you just enjoy to read you will enjoy this book. I always thought of war as a cool thing, because when you're younger you don't understand much about these things. I thought was for only the most strongest, fearless, and courageous men. But after reading this book it has helped me take it more serious and realize that everyone has fear when it comes to war, no one wants to die and not die in war. Tim does a good job of using good details to describe everyone and I have a well mental vision of the setting every time something new happens. Its tends to be a slow moving book when he describes someone or the things they carry. There is action and what I like is that its not Hollywood and fictional action packed. Its just like the stories grandpa would tell you only with much more detail.
This book has a lot of surprises and unexpected deaths, and that shouldn't be too surprising because this is a true story and people always die in war. But again I recommend anyone who picks this book up to read it. I don't like to read at all, but this is a book that I would read more than once and not complain. This book is well informed and gives the reader good understanding of what the Vietnam war was like for the men who fought in it, and maybe if they saw a veteran of war they might treat them with more respect.
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Summary: The Truth of This Story
Review: In The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien gives an amazing account of his stories after Vietnam. This was the first time I've ever read such detailed stories about this war. It gave me an idea of what war is really like, and how tragedies like these can affect a person for the rest of their life. What makes this book different is that there isn't just one story about Vietnam, there are many different accounts of how the war affected certain lives, before, during, and after the war. It gave a clear understanding of how one can struggle with the decision about going to war, and how they make it through, or don't. It's unbelievable what Tim O'Brien shared, and wasn't afraid to hold back. It truly made me appreciate what a story can tell. To clearly be able to tell about death and personal emotions towards war is amazing.
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Summary: All hail "The things they carried"
Review: In this novel "The things they carried" by Tim O'brien, O'brien does an excellent job of showing us the many faces of war. He uses certain styles of writing that are very interesting and unique. One of the examples of O'briens writing styles, is the way he will, in one paragraph talk about his experience in the war, and in the next paragraph he will take you to his life before the war. He also will repeat passages numerous times through out a paragraph to show how the memories of the war would repeat over and over in his own mind. Tim O'brien paints a vividly emotional picture of what it was like to be in Vietnam.
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Summary: A Look into the Soul of a Soldier
Review: Many of those who have reviewed this book have missed the point. Yes, the stories are disjointed and out of order. Yes, the author leaves doubt as to whether some of the stories are truth or fiction. But just as fisherman tell tall tales, they also tell us what the seas are like. Through this book, we get an idea of what it was like to be one of the guys fighting in Vietnam. Vietnam was a different kind of war on many fronts. It was a very brutal war in which many soldiers were unable to understand why they were even fighting. Tim O'Brien is the storyteller of his times in Vietnam. He is haunted by the images he sees in Vietnam. These images, in conjunction with the images of his past, haunt him in the present. O'Brien leaves the reader a little disoriented with his related but unorganized stories until the last few pages. In his conclusion, he admits that his storytelling is his mechanism for coping with his past. By coping with his past, he allows his friends who have already passed to remain a part of him. While most books on war focus on the battles of a war or the poltical aspects of the conflict, this books focuses of the human beings who were troubled by fighting this ambiguous war. For this insight, O'Brien should be comended.
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