The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brian
My daughter read this book for her high school English class. I gave it a go. The stories were believable at first. The book is a collection of stories O'Brian wrote for various magazines.
The book is named after the first story. It introduces the characters and what they carried. It drove home the point that the soldiers carried heavy loads both literally and figuratively.
I believed these stories were real. I wanted them to be real. I've met many people, friends just a couple of years older than me, who were in the Vietnam war. These stories reinforced my opinions of what some people's experiences were.
It was disappointing when I realized these stories are fiction. It is totally obvious they are fiction but I chose to ignore the sub heading on the book's title page "a work of fiction by Tim O'Brian." Instead I believed the dedication to the characters described in the book. Near the end of the book O'Brian rationalizes this approach.
That this extremely well reviewed book is used in advanced high school English classes underlines its importance and value. None the less it would have been more powerful if a good writer, like O'Brian, had actually had the experiences described. I still want to believe that the majority of the stories are based mostly on facts and O'Brian simply embellished minor details. Regardless I recommend this book.
The Things Carried read July '09 - Recommended
This page written 7/21/09. Copyright (c) Carl Wohlforth 2009
Help me with my quest oh omniscient oracle:
Have fun! Bid for one on eBay:
Outbid? No worries, try Half.com:
Need a web host? I use & recommend inmotion:
Collect coins? Check out Carl's Coins:
We are affiliates of the businesses listed above. Clicking through our link before doing business with them helps support this website. Thank you!
