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Summary: The Other Perspective
Review: This is a great book. Tim's stories really convey another perspective of the war. This is no glorified movie with larger than life heroes. These are the guys we grew up with, our neighbors and our friends. This is a deep look in to the personality of the war that tortured so many. This book is complete with humor, irony, drama, and most of all humanity.
I bet you'll finish this book in a day or two. This is a book you just can't put down.
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Summary: The Vietnam war as seen through a magnifying glass....
Review: Want an up close and personal look at what it was like in the Vietnam war and during that whole era? If so, then look no further than this book by Tim O'Brien. His collection of short stories does for the Vietnam conflict what James Joyce's 'Dubliners'does for turn-of-the-century Dublin, Ireland. Through a series of skillful vignettes, O'Brien paints a picture that is as gritty as it is gripping of his experiences in Vietnam as a young soldier. While he has admitted that some of this stuff never actually happened to him, he weaves these short masterpieces so that you could never tell what is fact and what is fiction --- similar to many myths about that war which are etched deeply into our American psyche to this day....I've read most of Hemingway's war stuff and with apologies to that great writer, nothing other than his short story 'Blackass at the Crossroads' comes even close to putting the reader right there seemingly in the middle of the action as O'Brien's book does. If you liked the movie 'Platoon' then you'll definitely enjoy this highly-charged piece of work!
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Summary: A remarkable book that affects the human soul
Review: If you are a fan of great litetarure, "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien is a absolute must-read, and to own the book is even better. Here are a collection of war stories based solemly on the Vietnam era. These are mostly recollections from the author. His powerful narration and fine skill as writer gives us a penetrating study about the men at war and how it effected the human soul forever. Never I will forget the many memorable moments in this book. The many noteworthy chapters include "On the Rainy River", "Sweet Heart of the Song Tra Bong", "The Man I Killed", and "Speaking of Courage." O'Brien makes you feel your in the war; you practically live and breathe with the characters. I was astounded about how O'Brien was in the war, and vividly and uncanny was his bear in memory. I'm not to sure if this should be considered a fiction book, when I think every known story from O'Brien was based on fact. This is an amazing book! One not to forget in human kind.
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Summary: Ten stars, please. What a book!
Review: Five stars aren't enough. This book of Tim O'Brien's blew me away. I was busy giving birth to my children during the Vietnam years and didn't follow the process as closely as I might have had I not been preoccupied. This book fills in the blanks on a gut level that's hard to express in mere words.
In fact, the author's ability to paint indelible word pictures is his greatest talent, IMO. Too often, I read a book, and 6 months later see the title somewhere and ask myself, Now what was that one about, again?
Not with the Things They Carried.
There are images in this book that will stay with me forever. O'Brien has published it as fiction; I don't believe that. I find it impossible not to believe every word in this book is true. It may not all have happened to HIM, but it happened to SOMEONE, and that's all that counts.
A masterpiece. Don't miss it.
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Summary: One of best books of the last thirty years
Review: This isn't really a book about Vietnam; it isn't really a book about war either; in fact it's not really a book - it's a work of art that every serious writer and reader should read because of its original style which brings the reader to the core issues of love, loss, truth, and right and wrong. It's one of the greatest books I have ever read - I could not put it down and when I finally did I was on an airplane for a business trip and found myself with tears rolling down my cheeks and chills up my spine. It's been a while since I read it, but I have to think that if you read this book right now you'd understand a lot better how a 22 year old kid with the 3rd I.D. in Tikrit feels at the moment. I can't say enough; I'm not doing it justice - all I can say is that this is an ABSOLUTE MUST read and if you could you'd thank me once you finished it. I have yet to have anyone tell me (after I recommended the book) anything less than they loved the book and could not put it down. It's one of those books that once you get up and re-enter your normal everyday life, you don't quite see things from the same perspective that you once did and you are then haunted by the memory of it. To me that's the essential objective of any writer, and Mr. O'Brien deserves to be listed as one of the top American writers EVER for this work of art alone.
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Summary: vietnow
Review: o'brien takes one simple fact and relates and weaves his life experiences into a book that is a must read for anyone who likes books about vietnam and has a heart. His story telling is second to none. The things they carried represented literally the things they carried in their ruck sacks, their emotions that carried with them in war and the emotions carried outside of war back in the states. O'Brien is a brilliant writer who will make you want to become a part of the book so he could chronicle your story.
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Summary: More About Human Nature
Review: This is a superb novel. It's more about the effects of war and strong symbolism than direct description of combat. Easy to read, it kept me turning the pages. Beautiful and heartbreaking at many, many points.
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Summary: One Of The Great Novels On Vietnam
Review: Tim O'Brien paints a wonderful picture in, The Things They Carried. Although he claims it is not about himself, he puts a character named Timmy O'Brien in the jungle of Vietnam in this collection of short stories that becomes a novel. This is probably the finest book I have ever read. I can't imagine anyone disliking this fine work of fiction. It will have readers laughing at one moment and crying at the next. Connections to characters are incredible. All fiction fans must pick up this book.
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Summary: An Amazing Book
Review: Tim O'Brien vividly illustrates war in Vietnam in The Things They Carried. He organizes the book so that each chapter is its own unique and beautiful story, but together, the stories work as one powerful book. Images of the war are very powerful, and Mr. O'Brien displays internal conflicts better than anyone else I've read. The Things They Carried is truly one of the best war novels I've ever read.
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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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