Rating: 
Summary: "I want you to know why the story-truth is truer sometimes
Review: O'Brien's "work of fiction" entitled "The Things They Carried" is a eye-catching work of art dedicated to the men of the artificial Alpha company. Although very good, O'Brien's work weaves in and out of great writing and diverts to points that are sometimes unrealistic or obviously untrue. We see examples of off the course writing in the chapter entitled The Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong, in which a girl visits her boyfriend in the war and never returns because she becomes "dangerous" and "ready for the kill." Although captivatingly interesting, this story delves deeply into a pit of unrealism and uncertainty as to why things occur and the reasons for the occurrences. O'Brien also deviates early in the book when he actually writes about the things they carried. He begins most paragraphs with "they carried." Although O'Brien means for the book to be about figuratively carrying, it seems that he means it almost too literally in the beginning. Furthermore, in many instances it is extremely hard to tell when O'Brien speaks of real events transpiring or fictional ones that seem that real. The most obvious of these violations comes to me as the description of the man he killed. Through his repetition of the description of the mangled body and the "star shaped hole," O'Brien breathes sympathy into our lungs but then knocks it out when he states that he did not kill the man.
O'Brien's story has palpable weakness and flaw but his story goes much deeper than the simplicity of carrying things and killing men. He speaks deeply to everyone through his use of good writing and thematically placed persuasion. His good writing is scattered across the pages of the book but the instance of the checkers game comes to mind. O'Brien starkly contrasts the simple, black and white rules of checkers to the not so obvious rules of warfare in Vietnam. His fine writing style also appears in the chapter entitled Speaking of Courage. In this chapter he briefly describes Norman Bowker's return back to the United States where he does not receive his hero's welcome or even simple recognition at that. He is isolated in a world that is not his own any more. This reminds me of countless returning war stories that place emphasis on the unwelcome return and the out-of-place feeling that the returning soldiers face. Although I have complained of O'Brien's seemingly unreal reality, it is this hazy line between reality and fiction that gives the book distinctiveness and rarity in the "war story" genre. We see the unique blend several times including his use of Norman Bowker in the same chapter. Although the story of him circling the lake is untrue, it is true that he kills himself because he felt the way O'Brien portrays him. We also see the truth versus fiction in the story about O'Brien's nine-year-old crush, Linda, who dies of a malignant brain tumor. In this story he recants his experience as a nine-year-old. We know the story cannot be entirely factional because it is impossible for him to remember events that occurred many years ago. O'Brien's sporadic use of the untrue and great writing combine to easily counteract the bad writing to create something unique and innate to O'Brien.
Rating: 
Summary: Incredibly powerful
Review: Its hard to come up with a word to describe how I feel about this book. To say I liked it ignores the moments of pure disgust I felt, the times when I wanted nothing more than to throw this book away and never look at it again; to say that I hated it would ignore the absolute connection forged between reader and story, a connection that makes it impossible to feel anything other than what the character is feeling. This book evokes more emotion than anything else I have ever read, and the inevitable opening of the mind to real men and real experiences (real despite repeated warnings that what we are being told may not be true) makes reading these stories an experience in itself. Be prepared to cry and scream and feel loathing and pity and love towards every character in this book. You must read it.
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Must-Read Book
Review: Wow! This is a big time heavy hitter that packs a real wallop. Rare is that person who will not be emotionally affected by this book. The Things They Carried is not so much a book about the Vietnam War as it is about the people caught within the context of that war. The chapers entitled "On The Rainy River", "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" and "The Man I Killed" are standouts that stopped me cold and caused me to reflect and reread them before proceeding on. Those readers who have lived through the Vietnam War era will appreciate how well Tim O'Brien captures the multiple personal experiences/impacts of that time. Pathos is a word best captured by this Tim O'Brien's brilliantly written novel. Read and experience it for yourself and you will understand why so many reviewers give it their hightest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Whitey 51
Review: the things they carried
Is a great book for most people that are a fan of fiction or war stories. tim obrein does a great job with his imagery and detail, the way he tells the storie it seems like you are there along side him in the trenchs. on the surface it apears to be about a group of soilders. I belevie that he is trying to show how war as differnt affects on differnt people. In the storrie sweet heart of song tra bong this is apairent. what make this book so interresting is the fact that you have to decied if it is true or not . ...
Rating: 
Summary: Not there`
Review: he contidicted to many points as well as telling storys that in the end the reader couldn't tell if it was true or not.
Rating:
Summary: Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong
Review: I will never forget the dark images "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" suggested to me. It is so eerie--frightening and sad at the same time. Before this chapter, everything else I read seemed believeable. But for a 17-year-old girl's parents to let her travel to Vietnam was absurd. Even so, the story is as bewitching as the transformation that eventually comes over this Vietnam sweetheart. It is easy to suspend reality because like Rat, Mark, Eddie and the Greenies, we love her too, and we want to see what happens, though O'Brien has already prepared us for unhappy or nonplussed endings. This is a war story that crosses the gender playing field and equalizes it; beauty and innocence are asexual and The Beast consumes whoever crosses its territory. "For Mary Anne Bell, it seemed, Vietnam had the effect of a powerful drug: that mix of unnamed terror and unnamed pleasure that comes as the needle slips in and you know you're risking something...Vietnam made her glow in the dark. She wanted more, she wanted to penetrate deeper into the mystery of herself, and after a time the wanting became needing, which turned then to craving" (pg.114).
Good-bye Mary Anne, good-bye innocence; good morning Vietnam.
Rating:
Summary: stark, searing, and powerful
Review: 364 reviews and I propose to add another!! Yet I feel I must, since I was so astounded by how this book grabbed me. It is a book of interrelated short stories, some very short indeed, but I found I did not want to come to the last page. While it is an entirely different book from another Vietnam-related book of short stories, A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain--a book I read with great enthusiasm on Jan 15, 1994--I think this book in its way is just as compelling a book as that one is. Not every stories herein is laid in Vietnam. One of the best of the 22 stories is "On the Rainy River" in which the author tells how he decided to go to Vietnam instead of Canada--a story which I am presuming is factual, as I can't help but think most of the stories are, even tho the book is labelled fiction. Since there are so many reviews, obviously this book is a classic and is being assigned in classes. It deserves to be read, and I am surprised I did not read it before this.
Rating:
Summary: O'Brien's First
Review: This is the first Tim O'Brien book that I've read, as well as the first book I've read about the Vietnam War. Reading this book excites me about the author and the topic. Tim O'Brien's writing style made the war come alive in my head. There were several times while reading this book that I was just in awe of how real it seemed. It is a terrific book that is written very well. It is an anthology of related short stories about the Vietnam War and one man's internal struggle to face his fears and go to war. Once in Vietnam, Tim eventually settles down and becomes a good soldier. His life at war and the stories he learns help him as a person and soldier. After the war he can't talk to his daughter about what he had done there and why he was in the war, because she was too young to understand. This is one of the greatest books that I have ever read, and would recommend it to anyone who is in high school or older, even if you were not interested in the Vietnam War before the book, you will be after.
Rating:
Summary: The Things They Carried: The Real War
Review: This collection of short stories is about the life of Tim O'Brien from the time of beeing drafted all the way until years after the war. This tells what it's like to be drafted, how life is during the war, and what it is like to have the memories years later. They carried everything from pictures to AK-47's to the weight of the memories. this book is one of the best.
Rating:
Summary: extraordinary writing: easily O'Brien's best --
Review: and among the best pieces of writing in contemporary American literature. Stark, frighteningly beautiful, sad, mysterious, understated, real-seeming, drum taut. Sometimes seducingly offensive, even repulsive (in the best, richest, most honest ways). Almost word perfect. I've taught creative writing and contemporary lit. at several universities. Some of the best prose ever written has been published in the past couple of decades. A few of my other favorite contemporary books in no particular order: THE NIGHT IN QUESTION, Tobias Wolff (the richest, roundest, most mature collection of stories by the world's best short fiction writer); THE TAO OF MUHAMMAD ALI: A FATHERS AND SONS MEMOIR, Davis Miller (a remarkable, dreamy, beautiful nonfiction novel by a fairly unheralded American who's quite well appreciated in the UK: London reviewers have compared Miller's books to those of T. O'Brien, T. Wolff, John Irving, and Nick Hornby [HIGH FIDELITY, FEVER PITCH]); TRACKS, Louise Erdrich (for me, the best -- and most real-world mythical -- in her interrelated series of novels). I can't imagine a more dynamic, life-affirming, profoundly entertaining group of books than those I've listed above. Happy and substantive reading, everyone!
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