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Summary: i was so shocked to learn all the stories were fictional
Review: i have to read this book as apart of my college english class...and i'm glad they made me do it. I thought this book was a kind of personal biography but turns out it was purely fictional. Very nicely done through the work of imagination. A book to convinve you to hate war even more too. PEACE TO THE WORLD! :P
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Summary: a great account of GI life in Vietnam
Review: O'Brien brings to life the pages as he shares story after story of grunt life in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Compared to other Vietnam war books, The Things They Carried seems to draw the reader into the story. O'Brien masterfully develops dialogue and personalities for each of his characters. D'ont miss this one.
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Summary: STONG AND EMOTIONAL
Review: THOUGHT I WOULD THROW IN A POINT OF VIEW ON "SWEETHEARTS".I ATTEND A JUNIOR COLLEGE IN ARIZONA,ONE OF THE STORIES WE READ WAS "SWEETHEART OF THE SONG TRA BONG".ONE OF OUR JOBS WAS TO ANAYLSE THE STORY AND PUT AN ASSERTION TO IT.I FEEL THAT TIM O'BRIEN'S WORK IS NOT ONLY RIVETING,BUT IS BASED ON THE REALITY OF OUR OWN FEARS.MARIANNE,TO ME,WAS OUR INNOCENSE LOST IN THE UGLY REALITY OF WAR.FLOSSIE IS OUR RESISTANCE TO THE INEVITABLE CHANGE OF SUCH EVENTS.THE STORY DEALS WITH EVERYDAY LIFE.ARE WE TO BE CONSUMED BY FEAR OF THE WORLD OR ADAPT AND OVERCOME.THE STORIES ARE STRONG AND TAKE YOU TO A TIME AND PLACE THAT SEEMED TO TURN THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN.
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Summary: Pretty good, but erratic at times...
Review: Tim O'Brien is a masterful purveyor of mystery; his words mingle together forming something which is not the sum of its parts but rather a tasty new concoction. His use of repetition and blurring of fact and fiction draws the discerning reader in and leaves him/her wanting more. "On the Rainy River" is quite simply a beautiful story and should be a prerequisite for all high school english courses. The writing, however, is not as tight as one could hope for; it loops about in strange ways and occasionally undermines the purpose which the author was striving to convey. Altogether, it's a commendable piece of work and well worth reading by all.
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Summary: Must read this great book!
Review: The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, is a story about life that is played out on a backdrop of the Vietnam conflict. As someone progresses through the book, one finds new meaning and simplifications of everyday life. O'Brien captures the essence of both the conflict in Vietnam and the deep feelings and thoughts that are within every one of us. His style of writing is like no other I have seen. He mixes a sense of realism into this fictitious story. Though it was based on a true event, he developed dialogue and personalities for each of the characters as if it were a work of fiction. If O'Brien did not tell us before hand that the novel was fiction, one would definitely believe it truly happened sometime in his life. The style of writing does not alter or hamper the true meaning that one will find in this superb book. It is irrelevant whether or not it is true or a work of fiction, because his meaning and thoughts surface no matter how it was written. Another key to O'Brien's style is his use of randomness within the book. Some chapters appear to follow a trend or the same story line, but others fly off at a tangent and in no way, shape, or form do they apply to the basic story line that is presented in the beginning. Randomness, allows for a reader to feel confused so it symbolizes the confusion found during the Vietnam conflict. Overall I find that The Things They Carried to be a very appealing book, especially if you are a fan of war novels. His use of randomness and a sense of realism in a work of fiction prove to me, that this is one book everybody should read. Besides the fact that the writing style is very unique, the story emotes many emotions and feelings along with teaching new ideas and thoughts, which all occurs in the years of the Vietnam conflict, both at home and in the "Nam" itself.
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Summary: Memories; our link to life.
Review: Memories are our link to life and those memories are the most important when you are surrounded by death and what better place to find death than a war. Most of the time we carry these memories with us, but we take it for granted that these things will always be there. we place them in the back of our mind and recall them only when we find need or are reminded of them. Well, it's about time that someone reminded us of those memories. O'Brien's, The Things They Carried, deals not only witht he pysical things they carried for the war, but the pysical things they carried to remember home and the emotional pressures they carried. At first glance, my reaction was, "Great! Another graphic war novel for those who can't stop learning about war." But this isn't a book about the war itself, it's a book about the people who fought the war. It's not about the government that started the war, but a book for every unsung hero that helped finish a war. The novel takes place in Vietnam, but if you change the setting and some of the equipment that they carried, this book could be about any war in history. The Things They Carried goes beyond the war to look at the people and as anyone who takes the time to look can see, the people are just like you and me. One of the characters carries a bible and another carries a picture of a loved one. They simple things because they are simple people, no different from you or me. Because O'Brien focuses on this fact, I think it helps put us in their place and stories are always best when you get to live them no matter how bad the situation may be in the story. I personally would have people read this book not only for the stories that they can relate to, but for the stories that make them look through somebody else's eyes. After all, the only way to make the world better is to look at it from a slightly different point of veiw. Whether it be upside down or through somebody else's eye, that's their choice. No matter what veiw you choose, remember, just remember.
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Summary: Fictional content is actually truth behind O'Brien's views
Review: "The Things They Carried" was a great read, though I must say that the psychological perspectives O'Brien offers through the "Evidence" chapters of "In the Lake of the Woods" makes that novel a more intruiguing and intellectually insightful piece of literature. The most interesting part of TTTC is its fictional status, which I, in fact, feel is truth instead. Although the novel seems on the large part a factual account of his experiences, I think the novel is capable of maintaining a "fictional" status because of the stance O'Brien takes on what is really the truth. As O'Brien states, "In any war story, but especially a true one, it's difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen...And then afterward, when you go to tell about it, there is always that surreal seemingness, which makes the story seem untrue, but which in fact represents the hard and exact truth as it seemed" (78). This theme of exact truth and seeming truth is one that is constantly referred to throughout the novel, and is arguably the central focus of the novel. This continuing internal debate that takes place regarding the truth of the novel adds to the great psychological insight O'Brien offers in all of his works. His description of events, which if truly fiction is incredibly vivid, certainly portrays a reality that leaves an indelible mark on the reader's mind. TTTC, as is true of all of O'Brien's works, presents a view of the human psyche that is accurate, intruiging, and provacative. It is truly a novel worth reading.
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Summary: My review shows why "The Things They Carried" is a good book
Review: Tim O' Brien wrote the novel "The Things They Carried" to express the weight the soldiers had to carry with them while they were at war. In the novel Tim shows how each solider carried items which helped them cope with the changes in their life. Some soldiers carried pictures of their girlfriend, some carried tokens of their heritage. Tim does a good job in showing the everyday life of a solider. In the novel there is a real sense of companionship among the men. Some of the men use drugs to cope with the harshness of reality they faced. I liked the book because it showed something else that the other books about Vietnam haven't, weight. The soldiers carried all of their belongings with them at all times. Until I read this book I really didn't look at that aspect of war. The men didn't stay in one place for extended amounts of time because of the tactic of gorilla warfare, so they carried everything. In the book you get to know all of the soldiers as if you knew them previously. Every time I started reading the book I felt as if I was there fighting with them. An American writes the book but Tim shows all the aspects of the war, both American and Asian. If you are interested in learning about the Vietnam War and also learning about the conditions the soldiers faced in the war, I strongly suggest reading "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien.
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Summary: Like it or Not!
Review: After reading The Things They Carried by Tim O'brien, I must say that it's not the most interesting book. Unless you like reading about all the sick things that happened in the Vietnam Conflict, you won't like this book. I don't like war stories at all and I hated the book. The author is good about pointing out details, but, if you're not interested in them, it's not the book for you! If you are reading the book to learn about a good writing style, this book could be very beneficial to you. Also, if you like reading about great detail and about war and history, you too would like this book. The details described in the book are well-conveyed so that the reader can feel as though he or she is watching the entire book unfold right before their eyes. As with any book, some people will like this book and others won't. I think that you should read it for yourself and it you don't like it, put it down. Whatever you do, don't force yourself to read it if you don't like it, but, if you do like it, keep reading!
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Summary: It really ties the reader to the story emotionally.
Review: Magnificent is the first word that comes to mind when someone begins to talk about the book The Things They Carried. This book has stories within stories about the lives of the men during the Vietnam War. One really begins to feel the sadness and the happiness that they feel through out the entire book. Each chapter is different from the other, and yet they are the same. The chapters are all related to each other, but each has their own unique flair to it. Even people that have no interest in history would find this book very entertaining. The reader can become one with each individual character. One can almost become emotionally involved with it as well it he/she lets themselves. The stories in this book by Tim O'Brien are all mostly sad stories. The chapters are usually talking about the men waiting for the enemy, losing one of their men, looking for someone, or describing the simple things in life that were making them so happy during this time of such awful conditions. There is definitely some humor in the stories, though. The humor is very dry, but it sort of makes the reader chuckle a little bit. Men talking about their girlfriends and the silly things they do or have to remember them by. One man even fell in love with a girl that he never even hardly talked to. These things can make the reader realize just how bad it must have been out there if these silly things were the things that made them so happy and kept them going. Some people may take this book and relate it to their lives. Sure they haven't been in a war probably, but some of the feelings that these men feel are probably very similar to the feelings of other people in other difficult situations. This book is definitely one that will keep a person interested until the end. The stories definitely go directly to the hearts of the readers because it is so tragic and sad. Even with that, though, this book is definitely a winner and a must to read.
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