The Things They Carried

Summary:

Called both a novel and a collection of interrelated short stories, Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried is a unique and challenging book that emerges from a complex variety of literary traditions. O'Brien presents to his readers both a war memoir and a writer's autobiography, and complicates this presentation by creating a fictional protagonist who shares his name. To fully comprehend and appreciate the novel, particularly the passages that gloss the nature of writing and storytelling, it is important to remember that the work is fictional rather than a conventional non-fiction, historical account.

Protagonist "Tim O'Brien" is a middle-aged writer and Vietnam War veteran. The primary action of the novel is "O'Brien's" remembering the past and working and reworking the details of these memories of his service in Vietnam into meaning. The Things They Carried is a ground-breaking meditation on war, memory, imagination, and the redemptive power of storytelling.

Prelude:

It's been a minute. The last couple months have been very busy for me school wise, junior year's been tough, but I have something very special in the works for my next blog post so everyone should get ready for that. Now to give context to the book, it's actually a first for me. The Things They Carried is the first book that I've read in school to have a done a book blog on. Normally I don't find the literature I read in high school very interesting but this book was certainly an exception. As a matter of fact, it's on par with Octavia Butler's Kindred in terms of novels that I actually enjoy from school and that one I enjoyed a lot. Maybe it's due to how different the narrative structure is, or that it's a war story or something else entirely, but when I picked up this book I was truly enthralled. AP English went very well with this one and I'd like to share my experience with you all.

Review:

This is a war story. Let's get that out of the way, but, this is a different type of war story. Without giving too much away it's almost as if the story has no morals. Or rather, the two sides that are competing against one another have no morals in different ways. When reading this book the Viet Cong were represented as just the bad guy, nothing more and nothing less. There was no humanization based off of Vietnam's own merits and instead it only came on the behalf of American soldiers. While the portrayal of the Viet Cong wasn't very nuanced it was one I can live with. The story's focus wasn't on them it was on Tim O'Brien and his crew. Leading into my next point about the book. It's characters.

The characters in this book are some of the greatest I've read in any fiction / nonfiction piece. While it does help that they're already established people in real life it does feel like O'Brien added in his own flare here and there. Rat Kiley was my personal favorite but Kiowa was amazing too. Mary Anne was a juxtaposition that had me hooked and Norman Bowker knew to keep my emotions high whenever he showed up. Azar reminded me a lot of Solf J. Kimblee from Fullmetal Alchemist so that was quite interesting as well. Tim himself showed up in different stages of his life which was interesting as well. I won't go into detail on what, but having more than just his war perspective on the war around him was something I enjoyed. What I felt was most important in this novel was the take away from the characters from war which, in my opinion, was handled beautifully. Some characters had changes that were very easy to spot but others not so much. Seeing the subtle differences in all of the soldiers as the story progressed was interesting to say the least. Some characters you don't simply know their take away and that's very true to war. O'Brien handled his characters very well.

The Things They Carries is also not a typical war story in how its stories are told. The stories aren't told in a typical linear fashion and instead O'Brien opts for vignettes spread across his journey in war and outside of it. This. Is. Brilliant. Not only did it make the story much easier to digest but it also kept me on my feet. Every new chapter was something new and different from the last with excitement bursting from all of the imagery and close detail. In a way his novel felt like an episodic monster of the week TV show and that was an interesting take for a war story that I felt I enjoyed. It switched things up in a genre that I never found all too interesting before leading to a surprise but a welcome one at that.

O'Brien's not always one for jokes but he sure does know how to make a person laugh. His tone overall is odd but works. It kind of feels like real life. In serious moments a character would try to make light of a situation and when situations should be treated with much more serious intent someone steps up to the plate. The story is intense, it's a war story after all, and some portions genuinely had me shook. However, nothing's ever too descriptive or graphic, it's usually just enough to get the point across. However, sometimes I do wish O'Brien would stick with one tone instead of switching all of the time. Giving some more time for the weight to settle in is always great but how he handles it doesn't take away from the overall story.

Overall, The Things They Carried is a book that will be held in high regard for a long time. Due to the fact that it's New Years Eve as I write this I won't be taking The Things They Carried into 2020 but I hope some of you will. It's a great book filled with twists and turns I think we all need in our readings from time to time. For sure, it's a book that'll keep you on your feet, so if you're looking for that this is the read for you. Finishing off, I'd say I'd give this book 4/5 diamonds. An emotional investment for the ages! Rest easy everyone, and have a happy new year.

I await your comic books...

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