The Things They Carried

Knowing I needed to start tackling more of the reading challenges I joined this year, I picked up The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, which has been on my TBR for awhile. (See my original TBR Pile Challenge post.) The first day of summer was inspiring and once the book and I clicked, I read it in one day.

I went into this story knowing it was about war, and specifically one I don't know much about, Vietnam. What I hadn't realized is that the book is a memoir of sorts. O'Brien served in Vietnam. That takes it to a whole new level and I began reading the book a little more closely when I figured out the author IS the narrator a few pages in.

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Another difference between this book and the usual war stories I read is the presence of actual war stories. The usual WWII/Holocaust stories I read are of citizens caught in the mix and the effects of war, but not direct stories of battle. Although the end results are the same, it is different to read the happenings of combat. As I read, I was constantly reminded of a TV show series my dad watched in the late 1980s-early 90s. He rarely watched any TV faithfully except for this show, "Tour of Duty," which came to me in clear snippets of scenes as I read. I looked it up and, sure enough, the series takes place during the Vietnam War. Tim O'Brien definitely writes well, making that decades long connection literally click in my mind, the theme song "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones playing over and over in my mind.

I don't feel specific examples of stories are needed. Start reading and O'Brien's writing will take you away and make you see what he has to say. He has great insight on many things, which it seems he learned in connection with his war experience. The interesting theme that reoccurs is the line between truth and untruth. O'Brien goes into detail, using his own story/experience as an example about how the truth can also not be the truth. One of his statements connected to his insight on truth is that "...sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever. That's what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past and the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can't remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story." 

I salute Tim O'Brien for his service and use of his wonderful writing talent to share with us his life and others he encountered. Thank you to all who have served and their families. For "they carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried." 

Any cut-above-the-rest war stories on your shelves readers?