The Things They Carried: O'Brien, Tim: 9780618706419: Amazon.com: Books

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Such an eye opening and emotional war book Christina

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The Things They Carried Paperback – October 13, 2009

by Tim O'Brien (Author)

15,371 ratings

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A classic work of American literature that has not stopped changing minds and lives since it burst onto the literary scene, The Things They Carried is a ground-breaking meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling. The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and the character Tim O’Brien, who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three. Taught everywherefrom high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writingit has become required reading for any American and continues to challenge readers in their perceptions of fact and fiction, war and peace, courage and fear and longing.

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Print length

233 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Mariner Books Classics
Publication date

October 13, 2009
Reading age

14 years and up
Dimensions

5.31 x 0.62 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0618706410
ISBN-13

978-0618706419
Lexile measure

880L

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15,371 global ratings

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Customers find this book to be a magnificent piece of literature that throws in lessons in storytelling. Moreover, the writing is praised as almost poetic, and customers appreciate how it delves into the deeper morality of war. Additionally, the book is emotionally powerful, with one customer noting how it manages to crawl into the reader's psyche, and customers praise its honest and detailed portrayal of war experiences. However, the style receives mixed reactions, with some customers appreciating how it creates vivid images in readers' minds while others find it too graphic.

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Readability Writing quality Thought provoking War story Emotional content Realistic portrayal Pacing Style

1,012 customers mention "Readability"997 positive15 negative

Customers find the book readable and engaging, describing it as a magnificent piece of literature that throws in lessons in storytelling.

"...4. Finally, a note about the writing. It is masterful. Beautiful. Real without being trite. O'Brien's style here is as much poetry as prose...." Read more

"...Tim O'Brien's ability to weave together fact and fiction, past and present, creates a narrative that is as enlightening as it is heart-wrenching...." Read more

"...There is a wonderful chapter about his stay in a cabin near the Canadian border where, along with the aged proprietor, he contemplates his decision...." Read more

"...to do so, if only because the writing and structure are elegant and majestic. But also, read it when you can stomach the violence and sorrow...." Read more

542 customers mention "Writing quality"411 positive131 negative

Customers praise the writing style of the book, describing it as almost poetic, with one customer noting its simple prose.

"...Sometimes it’s hard to breathe because the sentences are so rich. I must read more of his stories." Read more

"...His prose is both lyrical and raw, capturing the brutal realities of war while also finding moments of beauty and humanity...." Read more

"...The chapters are natural in length and there's no guess work involved. Give this one a try, you won't be disappointed." Read more

"...His Rat Keiley voice especially was really good. I bought the MP3 CD of this audiobook...." Read more

347 customers mention "Thought provoking"341 positive6 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking and insightful, with one customer noting how it manages to crawl into the reader's psyche.

"...book's greatest strengths is its exploration of themes such as fear, courage, guilt, and the search for meaning...." Read more

"Thank you Tim O'Brien for a wonderfully open, honest and brave work. "..." Read more

"...I found The Matterhorn quite compelling, and the recollection that sticks in my mind was of the terrible physical hardship, and the complete..." Read more

"...American soldiers during the Vietnam War and the literal and emotional burdens each soldier carries, if only to remember they are human...." Read more

324 customers mention "War story"255 positive69 negative

Customers appreciate the book's portrayal of war as a surreal experience that delves into its deeper morality, with one customer noting it's not a typical linear war memoir.

"...His prose is both lyrical and raw, capturing the brutal realities of war while also finding moments of beauty and humanity...." Read more

"...He writes in a straight-forward way and there's no extraneous melodrama, which for a topic as dramatic as the Vietnam War is tough to do...." Read more

"...First published in 1990, 25 years ago, it is still a valid look at a brutal war...." Read more

"...resonate more with the reader than others, but it's a poignant and timeless book. I highly recommend it!" Read more

221 customers mention "Emotional content"190 positive31 negative

Customers find the book emotionally resonant, describing it as poignant and heartbreaking while being sad but true.

"...They Carried" is a masterpiece of contemporary literature, offering a profound and deeply moving look at the Vietnam War and its enduring impact on..." Read more

"...It is deep and disturbing, and hoo boy, did it earn its status as a finalist for the Pulitzer...." Read more

"Incredible book, really enjoyed the read. Very touching. Kindle version seems to skip pages however, that was bothersome. Yes. Ok." Read more

"...draft for a war the author didn't believe in, was as touching as the stories of the fighting, the death, the despair in Vietnam. "..." Read more

138 customers mention "Realistic portrayal"130 positive8 negative

Customers appreciate the book's realistic portrayal, noting its honest depiction and vivid detail. One customer specifically mentions how it expertly illustrates human extremes.

"...Finally, a note about the writing. It is masterful. Beautiful. Real without being trite. O'Brien's style here is as much poetry as prose...." Read more

"...A true depiction of how war will terrorize someone’s soul while they live to wish they never see another dead thing." Read more

"...masterpiece of contemporary literature, offering a profound and deeply moving look at the Vietnam War and its enduring impact on those who fought it...." Read more

"...The book was so raw, so filled with reality while acknowledging that some stories cannot be told correctly, no matter how many times the author..." Read more

73 customers mention "Pacing"60 positive13 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book engaging and moving, with one customer noting how it draws readers in with just two sentences.

"...I found the way the soldiers dealt with death to be odd and moving and disturbing...." Read more

"...thoroughly enjoyed it and got through it in 2 days, a fast read that holds you...." Read more

"...It makes you dive in and think about what you’re reading and into the minds and motivations of the characters...." Read more

"...1. His technique. First person all the way through, but unless he makes a point of reminding you that the narrator is talking, you forget...." Read more

59 customers mention "Style"26 positive33 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book, with some praising how it creates vivid images in readers' minds, while others find it too graphic and unflattering.

"...This stuff didn't go home to his mother in letters. It's too real...." Read more

"Well written story that depicts the Vietnam War through the eyes of a soldier fighting on the front lines...." Read more

"...This book is the stuff from which those extremely unflattering and mostly untrue stories of the stereotypical, deranged RVN vets originate...." Read more

"...The book itself is a real beauty - the pages have a vinegary smell and a nice texture suitable for an enjoyable reading experience...." Read more

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Kindle Customer
Very well written
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase

I especially enjoyed this author. I have read many books about Vietnam Nam. This author made me feel I was there with young soldiers. I felt there fear and also their confusion as to why….just why.
It’s the way I felt and still feel to this day.

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Adam
Truth in Fiction, Death and PTSD
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2019
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Tim O'Brien is a national treasure. Thank you, Mr. O'Brian, for your work.

Four things I would like to focus on in my review of this seminal Vietnam War novel:

1. O'Brien addresses head on the paradox of fiction being more true than factually accurate history in conveying an experience. A detail that did not occur, can actually convey the reality of an experience more strongly than the strictly accurate account ever could. I find this true and I find it amazing. I think in the experience of living an event, especially a stressful or traumatic event, one becomes hyper-aware of small details--even your own heartbeat. Later, when recounting the experience, the facts often don't adequately capture the intensity of the moment. The story-teller, to then give an accurate representation of the lived moment, to get the reader/hearer to feel what was felt, must add some details. To accurately convey the feeling is the art, the job of the story-teller. Factual accuracy is the domain of the academic historian. Those in the trenches, telling their lived experience, should strive for emotional accuracy--a different, but no less important, truth that must also be preserved. O'Brien does that perfectly here, if occasionally with blushed cheeks as he tells on himself for doing so.

2. Death has always been personally present in the wars of the past (in the drone and hacking wars of the future death will be largely remote). Death looms large in O'Brien's Vietnamese jungle. I found the way the soldiers dealt with death to be odd and moving and disturbing. They prop up a dead old villager and shake and high-five his remaining hand. They take turns voicing their dead battle-buddy's signature mellow tone as his dead body waits for evac choppers to arrive. Death is too terrible to face head on--it must be mocked and laughed at to be borne. The main incident when it is faced head-on haunts the narrator for the rest of his life.

3. Which brings us to PTSD. One of the soldiers kills himself after not being able to adjust to civilian life after the war. The narrator returns with his daughter to the field where his friend died looking to find closure and finds little peace. The soldiers are forever changed, their innocence lost. I served in the Army, I never saw death up close and personal, and I still had mild PTSD after getting out. I can't imagine the hell in the minds of soldiers who fought in close combat in the wars of the 20th century. I mourn with them and empathize and promise to try to do more to help vets returning from combat zones.

4. Finally, a note about the writing. It is masterful. Beautiful. Real without being trite. O'Brien's style here is as much poetry as prose. Every writer should read O'Brien and learn from a master. It was a true pleasure to read. Which seems strange to say about a book about such difficult and dark topics.

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58 people found this helpful

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D. foley
loved this book
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
I loved this book for a couple of reasons. One my brother, was a Vietnam vet and, two, he never once spoke of the war. I was in high school when he got home in 1969. I intuited from his face (the war literally changed it) that the experience brutalized him and I started reading every book I could find about what the soldiers experienced. I wanted to know everything; what it smelled like, what the heat felt like, etc. After reading many books, I mean a lot, this book gave me what I wanted to know. It gave me a true glimpse of what he’d been through. It gave me an even greater empathy for him, but we still never spoke of it.

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13 people found this helpful

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Kjoy
Extraordinary story teller
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
O’Brien’s sentences are paintings made up of words. Sometimes it’s hard to breathe because the sentences are so rich. I must read more of his stories.

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Spencer A Green
Amazing read
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
As a war veteran, I can certainly sympathize with the level of emotion placed in his writing. A true depiction of how war will terrorize someone’s soul while they live to wish they never see another dead thing.

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One person found this helpful

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Terrell Plummer
Ehh
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2024
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Not my cup of tea

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One person found this helpful

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Bob Hoskins
Healing through writing. No blood and guts here.
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2011
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Thank you Tim O'Brien for a wonderfully open, honest and brave work. "The things they carried" opens with a narrative of what grunts in Vietnam physically carried based on the mission, the terrain and their personal preferences. Everything carried added weight to the burden carried through the hostile country of Vietnam.

"The things they carried" talks about the emotions the men carried with them. Emotions about the war, back home, their buddies, their officers and the Vietnamese. "The things they carried" includes each soldiers story.

The book is a self healing in which O'Brien digs down deep into himself and brings up emotions buried by a kid in Vietnam. What he saw and how he translated it then is reanalyzed as an adult and laid out on paper for us to read and absorb. It's fascinating in so much as 20 years after the initial event, as he now recounts for us, the clarity and emotion is so obviously vivid in his mind.

There are no long, drawn out and confusing battle recollections but more frozen moments in time that are now locked in a steel trap of memory. The angle of the dead man's head, the color of the medic's boots, the vibration of light at a particularly defining moment. O`Brien talks about the truth in recollection of the same story by different men. Each man adds his own spin but, to that man, it's the truth. The embellishment is not to distort the truth but serves only as a way to make the truth more truthy somehow? This isn't a story it's a healing. O'Brien has allowed us to be witnesses to his attempt to heal or, more aptly, recover his youth lost in S.E. Asia.

As far as "Vietnam, none fiction" goes, this book is not the usual narrative of 13 months in the 'Nam. This one has a different slant as it's more a "20 years after the event". I thoroughly enjoyed it and got through it in 2 days, a fast read that holds you. The chapters are natural in length and there's no guess work involved.

Give this one a try, you won't be disappointed.

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6 people found this helpful

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M. T.
The Best Book I have read about the Vietnam War
Reviewed in Australia on February 9, 2024
Verified Purchase

Tim O'Neil had me enthralled from the start. This is my era and this book is outstanding.

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BaillieJr
Exceptional book, harrowing, thought-provokiing. A must read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 8, 2016
Verified Purchase
The Things They Carried was an astoundingly good read. I had heard various stories and watched certain films (Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket etc.) which depict the harshness and brutality of what went on in Vietnam during the war, so I wasn't completely ignorant of the war in that respect. However, I still found that this book touched me more than any other regarding the seriousness and the fact that Vietnam was such a massive event for so many people during those times. I found myself thinking of my own father, and how he would have been drafted had we grew up as Americans, and how this could have totally changed my own life. Or how I, currently a 28 year old could have easily been thrust into a situation like Vietnam.
The book had me thinking of so much and touched me in a way that few books have. Insightful, well written and a must for anyone and everyone to read. This isn't a war story, its a story of the human spirit and the things they had to endure.

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Samuel
La guerre enfin décrite pour ce qu'elle est
Reviewed in France on April 1, 2013
Verified Purchase
Un merveilleux ouvrage entre le roman, les nouvelles et la poésie. Sur la guerre du Viet Nam, certes mais qui pourrait décrire l'âme de tous ceux qui, un jour, se retrouvent une arme à la main, jeunes et ne sachant pas pourquoi ils sont là. Plus que tout, un chef d'oeuvre de la littérature mondiale.

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Leonardo
Capolavoro di letteratura americana contemporanea
Reviewed in Italy on June 26, 2023
Verified Purchase
Un libro dove forma e contenuto raggiungono una simbiosi davvero straordinaria; metamoderno, nella sua decostruzione del medium del "racconto di guerra," e al contempo nel suo utilizzo cosciente e puro.
Lo stile è diretto, sommario, nell'asprezza distaccata della narrazione; la certezza espressiva nel racconto rende evidente più che mai l'ambiguità di tutto ciò che è la guerra, quella guerra, il coraggio, la paura, la fraternità dei soldati.

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Amazon カスタマー
The book arrived on time and was as described.
Reviewed in Japan on August 10, 2024
Verified Purchase
I haven't read this yet but it looks very interesting.

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