The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

A Love Story

   

I've watched very little war movies, much less read about them, even lesser about the experiences of the people who toured NAM. I wouldn't have read this book and got introduced to Tim O'Brien if this was not a dared book from the TFG challenge earlier this year.

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED is a great book that engages the reader with its unique format. It’s neither a novel, nor a collection of short stories, but rather a composition of story fragments that are interconnected completing an experience beyond profound. O'Brien tells the stories, and then re-tells them while changing some bits of facts; afterward, he tells the reader that the stories are made up, but still true. These constant contradictions of fiction and reality challenge the reader to suspend disbelief and focus more on the impact of war on the human soul, rather on the mundane details of war. This is a work of fiction, and yet, the stories capture the heart with its undeniable truth.

“By telling stories, you objectify your own experience. You separate it from yourself. You pin down certain truths. You make up others. You start sometimes with an incident that truly happened, and you carry it forward by inventing incidents that did not in fact occur but that nonetheless help to clarify and explain.” 

The words simply flow on its accord, letting the reader drift into the story and forget to put the book down. I read this book in less than 5 hours in one sitting. Some stories are really hard to read due to conflicting emotions and philosophy of morals. But O'Brien insisted that these are not war stories, but love stories that needed to be told again and again.  I agree with him because stories like this needed be held with love in remembrance of the irretrievable pieces that the soldiers left in Vietnam.

"Over the years, that coldness had never entirely disappeared. There were times in my life when I couldn't feel much, not sadness or pity or passion, and somehow I blamed this place for what I had become, I blamed it for taking away the person I had once been. For twenty years this field had embodied all the waste that was Vietnam, all the vulgarity and horror."

I was so affected by these stories; I believe that I may never listen to the Lemon Tree song the same way again.

Thank you, Patrick, for lending me your copy.



Book details:
Title: The Things They Carried
Author: Tim O'Brien
Publisher: Mariner Books
Publication: October 13, 2009
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★

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Books: Gifts, Borrowed, and a Dare

It is prevalent to give bookish people books as gifts.  The challenge lies in how to pick the right book and why. In that effect, let us peruse the books I recently received.

§  Dancing After Hours by Andre Dubus- from Angus – A collection of short stories depicting loneliness, lack of love, and moments of redemption. Dubus’ creations were compared to Raymond Carver’s. This will be a pleasure indeed.

§  The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster- from Bennard- The story, more or less, is about redemption, having reasons to see life again in a different avenue, after having considered death as an only option. This is something I want to sink my teeth into.

§  Everlasting by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss- from Maria- One of the last two books before this favorite author died. Romance is the key theme here, and I do need some dose of that. LOL

§  Project 17 by Eliza Victoria- from Lynai- This is my first Victoria piece and it’s a mystery novel. A mystery is my kind of candy!

§  White Teeth by Zadie Smith- from Bennard- This one I snagged from the book pile during the TFG Yuletide Party.  Monique and I agreed to buddy-read it this year. The story is surrounded by extremism and dilemmas. I think this one is already cut out for us.

Thank you very much, guys!

This next book is something I purposely borrowed. The lender is such a sweet soul, trusting me with his copy.

§  Man in the Dark by Paul Auster- from Bennard- I have a certain love for Paul Auster.  For a while now, he’s my source of good mindfuck that left me breathless and wanting.

The last book is a dare. We had our F2F25 last January 18, at The Appraisery. Our post discussion activity involved stating our best and worst reads from 2013, then being dared to read someone else’s worst read, standing on the belief that “one man's trash is another man's treasure.”

§  The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien- from Patrick- We drew lots, and this is what I picked up. It is a collection of short stories, semi-autobiographical, about American soldiers (platoon) who fought during the Vietnam War. It’s too early to assume that I’ll find a treasure here, but I’m keeping an open mind since I do enjoy reading short stories. I have a mental note of associating short stories with the term gleaning.

I have to make some adjustments on my reading plan this year, I think I can still work it out.  Determination and management!

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