The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
Genre: Historical Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): In 1979, Tim O'Brien's Going After Cacciato—a novel about the Vietnam War—won the National Book Award. In this, his second work of fiction about Vietnam, O'Brien's unique artistic vision is again clearly demonstrated. Neither a novel nor a short story collection, it is an arc of fictional episodes, taking place in the childhoods of its characters, in the jungles of Vietnam and back home in America two decades later.

MY OPINION: *****

I was "forced" to read this book for my summer assignment for my AP Language and Composition class for this coming year. I was not expecting to enjoy it because I usually do not like the books that school assigns to us. However, I was proven quite wrong and ended up loving this book.

This book is basically a confession from Tim O'Brien. It's set in the Vietnam War and although it is a work of fiction, it is loosely based on the experiences of the author. The narrator for the majority of the stories within the book is also named Tim O'Brien which helps the readers to deduce that this book has at least some nonfiction qualities, if only a little.

The book features several "short stories" that all stem from one main story about the Vietnam War. The book takes the reader on an honest, heartbreaking, brutal, blunt adventure of the horrors and fragility of each soldier's life throughout the war.

The book dives into how the war affected the various "characters" and what consequences each person had to deal with. It paints a picture of devastation and grief and goes into what it means to be brave or cowardly. I had previously not known much about the Vietnam War since the coronavirus ended our history curriculum early before we could get to that section but this book helped to inform and educate me on the various aspects of the war, such as the reasons and the consequences.

Each story highlighted the various emotions and trauma that each soldier experienced. The feelings were visceral and palpable and you truly felt that you were living through these experiences with the soldiers. It was easy to get lost in the book; I told myself I was going to read one or two chapters and ended up reading the entire second half of the book in a day. The book is relatively short but so much was packed in the 220 pages that you felt that you had lived through half a lifetime.

You have to remember that these soldiers were in their late teens and early twenties, trekking through Vietnam carrying weapons, significant items, and all sorts of literal and figurative things through the marshes and rivers and hills. Most were drafted and did not enlist by choice, including Tim, who goes into an introspective journey of deciding whether or not to run away to Canada and escape the draft, ultimately deciding to do the cowardly thing and join the war despite not believing in it.

I loved this book. It was poignant, emotional, touching, and terrifying all the way throughout the book. Each story read like a confession as Tim found himself still drawn to writing war stories all these years later. I would recommend this book to all readers looking for an exceptional illustration of the Vietnam War.

Main Character: Tim O'Brien
Sidekick(s): The other soldiers, etc
Villain(s): War, guilt, cowardice, death, etc

Historical Fiction Elements: This could also be categorized as a memoir but as it was not fully nonfiction, it was more of a historical fiction piece.