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Overview
Overview
The Things They Carried author Tim O'Brien is a co-writer on NBC's hit show THIS IS US for episodes about Jack's time in Vietnam.
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 everywhere--from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writing--it 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. The Things They Carried won France's prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.
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 everywhere--from high school classrooms to graduate seminars in creative writing--it 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. The Things They Carried won France's prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.
- Format: TradePaperback
- Author: O'Brien, Tim
- ISBN: 9780618706419
- Condition: Used
- Dimensions: 7.90 x 0.70
- Number Of Pages: 256
- Publication Year: 2009
Customer Reviews
Rating Snapshot
5 ★
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Storytelling at it best
Roxane R. - 5 years 5 months agoTim O'Brien ties a number of stories together with a single thread-- the Vietnam war. But that thread tangles and snarls in this metafiction that challenges the reader and boggles the mind as soldiers go rogue and death comes too horribly quick and the insanity of war becomes the biggest burden to be carried. #SpringPicks
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A rollercoaster for the mind
Ashwini M. - 6 years 5 months agoI walked into this book expecting grotesque detail, a few limbs here and there and a whole lot of blood. Either that or a retelling resembling a chapter from a history book. But I was wrong. Not that there weren't any gory details. For crying out loud, I got hit in the faces with pieces of skin and intestines hanging off of a tree! But this book brought forth the essence of war. The ruthful aspect of it highlighted by its ability to transform someone innocent into a monster. While the liveliness and eventfulness of war make up its beauty. Throughout the novel, as a reader, you face confusion. You wonder whether what you just read was true or just a made up story to draw you in. But even that describes war with all the confusion and disconnect with reality. So even if it isn't a true story, it thrives as a true war story.
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An Uplifting Affirmation of the Power of Storytelling
Blake G. - 6 years 5 months agoI highly recommend this book for any one interested in engaging with a great story and becoming a more critical reader of fiction. The Things They Carried offers a deeply compassionate look at the human cost of war and an uplifting affirmation of the power of the stories we tell (and the ones we read) to change us and the way we see the world. While on the surface, it is a book about a platoon in the Vietnam War, O'Brien moves us beyond typical war story tropes and uses war as a lens through which we can better view what makes us human when we are pushed to our emotional, psychological, and even moral limitations. My favorite thing about his book is that it challenged me to be a better reader as O'Brien invites us to scrutinize how good fictional stories can teach us more about human truths than nonfictional ones.
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The personal experiences of the author during the Vietnam War
Larissa D. - 7 years 5 months agoI've never been a huge fan of war stories, but this book had me completely hooked. Tim O'Brien is a Vietnam vet, and he used his experiences to write partially fictional short stories over the years. The Things They Carried is a reworking of those stories. It includes lots of commentary from the author himself, walking you through everything that happened and giving you a glimpse of what war is actually like. From beginning to end, I was enthralled with his story. The way he explains his feelings and describes the horrors he saw - and the way he describes scenes as if you're there living it with him - will have you both horrified and wanting more. I definitely recommend it.
HPB Staff Review