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Summary: War in the stories of a soldier
Review: During a creative writing class we have just concluded the book "The Things They Carried." This book is filled with detailed descriptions of war and how soldiers deal with their emotions through events through the war. I am not interested in the whole war scene in books, but this book was different. This book is based on individual stories, some are real, some are not. Through these stories I was able to see a different side of war than just fighting. I saw the lives of men who were afraid to cry because of their "tough guy" reputations. The book also had a very interesting ending. An ending that I would have never expected from a book about war. Through this book I have a better understanding of the changes men go through emotionally and mentally when involved in such a hard time, such as war. There are some blood and guts situations in this book, but nothing that is too drastic. It only makes the scene more intense when you can visualize the battle. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to feel emotion, visualize reality of war, and anyone who enjoys a good story!
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Summary: The Things They Carried Weren't All Materialistic
Review: The novel The Things They Carried is a very deep and soometimes twisted book base on the Vietnam War. This book invokes many different feelings ranging from anger to sadness to sympathy. This book is well written and Tim O'Brien uses his lagre vocabulary and understanding of human pain and suffering to instill in the reader the best he can the feeling and depression of war. My teacher is making me write another sentence so.....This is a great book. Not to read it would be a grave mistake because this book is great.
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Summary: I carried a diamond in a sea of rocks.
Review: An outstanding novel written in first person. It revolutionized the literature scene with reality slapping the reader in the face sporatically. The narrator will suck you in with unparalleled stories and then spit you out with the truth leaving a streak of conciousness siliva on our minds. It was unlike any story, and origionality in the foundation of all great novels. If one story is not to your liking, you can continue to read the book and the next section could be completely dissimilar, to keep all readers on their edge of their seat, and eager to read of their next adventure. What struck me most was the honesty of the narrator in times of entrapment. At first it was extremely discouraging, but i grew to understand the truths of a story and the fictions of a fact. Our minds accepted all words for truth while the novelest poet reminded us of the power and subconsciousness of a story. A story could be fictional to one person, and the foundation of another person's life. I have read many books in my day, but when it comes to origionality and interest, "The things they carried" will always be carried by me as a diamond in a sea of rocks.
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Summary: The things they carried-physically and mentally
Review: The things they carried is a book that seems to be written with many emotions. The emotions show through in the stories that are told and through the characters actions. The many war stories are easliy related through "home" stories that relate the war activities to common, everyday situations. It is a book of heartfelt tradegy and the stories of the lives of the soldiers themselves. It tells of the adventures that they went through in the jungle and the terrible acts that followed. If you enjoy war stories then this book is definitely for you. It tells about the war from the inside out- the way the men saw it. Overall a great book for leisurely reading.
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Summary: A great book on war and on living after it is over
Review: I read the title story of "The Things They Carried" in college and thought it was one of the best stories I'd ever read. It wasn't until a month or so later that I learned it was a book-length work and one day when I was killing time in the library I tracked it down, found an empty carrel, and stared reading.Four hours and a missed dinner later I finished the book and sat there for a long time trying to take it all in. These stories-- and it is difficult to say which are stories, which are memories, and whether there is a distinction between the two-- are so sad and funny and disturbing that I was exhausted when I finished. But the next day I went out and bought my own copy of the book and I've re-read it maybe twenty times. It's a book I always recommend when someone asks me if I've read anything good lately. It's been 10 years and this book is still one of the first that leaps to mind. O'Brien creates a surreal world of men at war and the time that exists before and after war. The characters (who may or may not be O'Brien and the men he served with) fight and play and kill and die with no real sense that there is an outside order trying to impose its will. There are things to be carried and hills to be climbed and missions to be accomplished and there is no firm beginning or end to it. The war never ends, because the stories about it go on. And that is perhaps the other big theme of the book. These stories are not just about war, but about how stories can themselves create a reality as real as the one we walk around in. O'Brien alternately tells us that the stories we are reading are true, that they really happened, and then later admits that he made it all up. Writing fiction is, after all, the skillful and entertaining telling of lies. But then O'Brien tells us that these "stories" are often more truthful than the cold hard facts. This isn't presented in a pretentious, oracular way, but it the words of a man trying to understand just what happened to him and people he cared about. I don't know how good a job I've done in conveying how great this book is, so let me just say that if you read this book, you won't be disappointed in the least bit. When you finished you'll be right back here recommending it to someone else.
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Summary: Awe-inspiring
Review: I do not have the words to describe how much I loved this book. I am truly grateful that I stumbled upon such a fine collection of stories. His honest style of writing is an experience I don't ever want to miss out on...I just ordered all of Tim O'Brien's other books.
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Summary: My Top Pick for 1999
Review: One of the most searching and soulful books I've ever read--and read again. This is a book that gives you something different every time you read it. It illuminates and redefines courage, loyalty, truth, love and loss. I found a diamond in the rough in this one.
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Summary: Powerful Story Telling
Review: O'Brian purges his own ghosts and tells us what it was like to be young and at war and also what it is like to be forty-three and living with the memories. Along the way he also tell us why and how he writes. A very interesting mix.
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Summary: WOW!
Review: This is the first book I read by Tim O'Brien. It started as a history project and became an insparation for me. He realy knows how to grab somebody's atention. I hate reading. Now I only read Tim O'Brein.
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Summary: The Things They Carried
Review: I'm not much of a reader, but once I started this book, I could not put it down. It was an easy to read story that isn't just another book about stories from a war, but it was stories of life. Tim O'Brien was great at using the many war stories of his about the Vietnam War and then using them to relate to life. Also the very detailed description of places, weapons, and people made you get clear pictures in your head, just as if you were there inside the story, seeing everything happen second by second. This book was by far one of the best I have ever read and I would recommend it to anyone.
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