“The Things They Carried” is perhaps the most mind twisting,
heart sinking, and unbelievable mind-blowing book I have ever read. After every
chapter I was left stunned and had to sit back and reflect on what I just read.
Tim O`Briens book was the first novel based on a man’s
experiences in the war zone, and I don`t think any other book with the same
topic will feel the same. There are extremely few movies and books these days
that actually make you question humanity, but this one did.
The novel is a collection of short stories about the Vietnam
war. The perspective shifts, sometimes we feel like we are listening to him
speaking directly to you, telling what he sees at the very moment, or if he is
reflecting on something that happened a very long time ago. At times it feels
like the stories are true. I believed for a long time that all of them were.
Maybe they are, maybe they are not. Whether they are or not is not so important I have discovered. At least we can assume that they are based on reality, and the exoeriences Tim O`Brien and other veterans he met.
The chapters range from only two pages up to more than 20 at
times. The stories are everything from pro war to post war and of course in the
heat of a combat. It features several characters, including O`Brien himself,
while struggling trough the everyday life as a foot solider in Vietnam. We are
told about the definition of a true war story, the stories of friendships with
tragic endings, and encounters with the Vietnamese people.
But overall, it was a great piece of writing. Doing homework
on this book was not a bore, even in the midst of my summer break.
-Johanne.
Johanne,
SvarSlettIt's clear that your experience with this novel was as visceral as mine. And you're right, it's not important which stories are true and which are not. What matters is that we do in fact take some time to THINK to QUESTION and to FEEL. It's clear that you have done this!
Thank you for your candid blog entries and your evocative writing!