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Summary: insight into the vietnam war
Review: I found "The Things They Carried" to be a very valuable book because, unlike most modern novels which focus on mere entertainment value, it provided insight into the Vietnam War I never thought that I would have. From its description of the jungle and its effects on the soldiers to its voyages into the minds of various soldiers during and after the war, it showed me a side of the Vietnam War, and war ingeneral, that i had never seen before. Even though the book was mandatory for me to read, I found it more valuable than most mandatory books because, although fictional, it offered insight into feelings that were very much real at that period in time.
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Summary: Turns you inside out !
Review: 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!
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Summary: Carried, Buried, and Born
Review: The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, was the first real insight that I got into the Vietnam War and some things shocked me. I had heard of atrocities but never placed them with men and real situations. This fictitious, yet extremely real, book helped me to put the war into perspective. O'Brien's best feature in this book is the reality that the reader experiences and the familiarity of the characters. Each character is introduced with a piece of his background history which helps to make them more real in the reader's mind. As you read the book it feels as though you are out there in the wet climate with them, marching for reasons which were not clear. O'Brien shows how people change as a result of the war, and also how someone may return home from the war safe and alive, yet they are really dead along with everyone left in Vietnam. The Things They Carried is a tremendous reading experience that educates while bringing reading enjoyment. Vietnam brought tragedy to the lives of Americans, but O'Brien, with The Things They Carried, captures both sides of the war; both the beauty and the hardship. -Junior, Seekonk High School
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Summary: Soldiers at Heart?
Review: The Things They Carried is an emotional look at the lives of the soldiers in the Vietnam War. O'Brien tells the secrets of war. He shares the burdens that each man has in his heart. The way each person's death and each decision is eating away at them on the inside, but on the outside they act tough. Reading this book helped me to understand the psychological motives that allow people to cope with even the most alien of worlds. Displacing themselves from the war was a main tool the soldiers used. O'Brien made it clear that stories were what sustained the men, and repeating them was what empowered them. The final chapter of the story, in which Tim described Linda's tragic death, was the undercurrent of the whole war. Each chapter contained unspoken love and a deep sorrow for what they were forced to leave behind. Memories of the pain and intense feelings will haunt the soldiers for ever. However, it is only in their dreams and stories that they can ever change and deal with this era of their lives.
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Summary: THE WRITER OF WAR IS A WIZARD WITH WORDS
Review: I am a senior at Walsh Jesuit High and for my English class we were required to read this book. At first I was very skeptical because I am not into the whole war idea. I dont like reading about war strageries like most war books are like. This book by Tim O Brien is the complete opposite of my beliefs on war books. This book is more on the emotions and the feelings that the men encounter during and after the Vietnam War. He wrote the book in a way that every one could relate. He had stories not only about guts and blood but about love and loss. Everyone can relate to that so i think that is why it appeals to a wide range of people. The book is beautifully written in the sense on how it captures the true feeling of war. It is a very intense book. I have never been through a war experience or anything like that, but through the stories thatt he had shared i get a good sense of the hell it really was. This book also made me have a greater appreication of the soldiers that fought in the war. I was never aware of all the hardships duiring that war and mostly after. In conclusion this book should be on everyone's list to read. It is well worth it. It has great insight on life as well as some amazing war stories!
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Summary: Visions of Vietnam
Review: The Things They Carried, a novel made up of a collection of short stories, is an amazing look at the horrors of Vietnam. Tim O'Brien takes you inside the war, giving you vivid images of the death, destruction, and tragedy that occurred daily to the soldiers. The book focuses mainly on the men of O'Brien's platoon, giving you an inside view of their lives, deaths, and personalities. The book makes such a profound effect on the reader because it takes you inside the story, and makes you feel like you are a part of the soldiers and the war. Be ready to feel the emotions of Vietnam. After reading this book, I did not understand why the war happened, or why so many people died, but I did get an appreciation for the men who risked their lives and I know I will never look at Vietnam the same again.
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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: Death Sucks!
Review: Death sucks is a common theme throughout the entire novel. Tim O' Brien writes about his continuous loss of friends throughout his entire life. The novel takes a different view of war then I was used to, because it tells the details about the soldiers. The soldiers carried many other things than just equipment, they carried guilt, their reputations, and the desire to be at home. Finally, I beleive the book is worth reading if you are interested in the being the scenes of war. The novel depicts war and parallels this with real life. Tim O' Brien relates war to real life which allows the reader to identify with the situations the characters are in. The novel causes the reader to look at death and the effects death has on a person. The reader realizes the loss of a soldier also means the loss of a family member or a friend for someone else. In the end the characters realize, "Death Sucks."
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Summary: The things I will carry
Review: The Things They Carried is an interesting account of one man's involvement in the Vietnam War and what happens to him. He tells very compelling and insteresting stories about friends and instances that happen when he is in Vietnam. He brings us into his life and thoughts through these personal stories. After reading this book my view of Vietnam has been slightly altered. I never realized what the soldiers actually went through till I read this book. Many of the stories created very vived images in my mind of what it was like. I will carry many of those images in my mind always and they will be the first thing that pops into my head when someone mentions the book. It is easy reading and very fast pace. It won't take anyone long to read it. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Vietnam War and to anyone else who may not know that much about it. After reading the book I recommend that you watch the movie Platoon. The images from the book can be seen more clearly through this movie. They are and can be very graphic,the book and the movie, but I highly recommend both.
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Summary: Stories Keep Us Alive
Review: Tim Obrien wrote this book as a book of war stories, or did he? Did he want to describe Vietnam or just prove a point? I believe that Tim Obrien both described Vietnam and proved his point. His point being that with stories, people are kept alive and also recreated. For example, one can give the person being described in the story extra personal traits. I could describe my sister as being very smart when she was younger, eventhough she wasn't very bright. Through all the stories that Obrien described, he got a point across. Thats why he told the readers that it didn't matter if the story was true or not, it was the point trying to be heard that counts. All of Obrien's stories could have never happened, but through them we found out what war is like and also felt the pain and suffering that others were. Without stories we wouldn't exist forever.
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