Well done, but Preferred IN PHAROH'S ARMY by Tobias Wolff

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	• The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien Broadway, 1998 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 693 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Eloquent but Drawn Out

Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried is a well-written account of Vietnam, albeit a repetitive and overly-extended one.

The overall plot is fragmented and skips between past and present, which can be effective when used sparingly. O'Brien's usage instead gives a sense of the author being lost and without direction. To be honest this work felt more like a disjointed set of short stories than one whole, and it was not surprising to see that many of them were actually first published as such in Esquire.

When I began reading this novel I was immediately intrigued by O'Brien's parallelism in his sentences, many of which begin with, "they carried." But by the tenth iteration it began to become a headache. Novelty does not sustain The Things They Carried for very long, and fairly soon there is only the deadpan tone to deal with. Understandably this is a war novel based on memoir, and it would be ludicrous to give the war too great of a dramatic flair, but this still does not excuse O'Brien's style--of the variety which seems to flow along without break, rarely ever placing conversation inside quotes, without any exclamations, continuing drearily along, good for short stories, but torturous for 246 page work. The author still seems to be caught in a reverie years after the events he describes, without having gained much insight in those years in-between besides that he was a coward for not running away to Canada.

The best part of this novel is the detail. His lists of the items which his platoon carried is intriguingly miscellaneous in otherwise bland scenarios. Many say that his stories are convincing, but men do not usually die by getting shot in the head while zipping up, and girls are not usually shipped to war zones or join the Green Berets.

Oftentimes as one reads a novel one's attachment to the story grows, so that when the end approaches the author can make allusions to details in the beginning, occasionally with a gut-wrenching effect. As I read this novel my interest in it peaked early and then became dimmer and dimmer as it continued. The last sentence is profound, but when I read it I felt less a sense of regret than a sense of relief that the monotonous journey was over. It should have remained a short story or vignette. O'Brien's daughter Kathleen makes the case when she comments on O'Brien's preoccupation: "And that's bad?"--"No. That's weird."

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Well done, but Preferred IN PHAROH'S ARMY by Tobias Wolff

Tim O'brien tells a good story, and mixes in fact--or the illusion of fact--and fiction skillfully. Still, sometimes the fiction just didn't work for me; most notably, when one of the soldier's girlfriends came and turned from cheerleader type to bush-soldier extraordinarie. I understand the methaphor/aim of this, but it seemed over the top. For a pitch-perfect wonderful, fact/memoir of Vietnam, I think IN PHAROH'S ARMY is a masterpiece. If you're not familiar with Tobias Wolff, you're in for a treat.

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Expedited Life Lessons in One Novel

Set in the backdrop of the Vietnam War, The Things they Carried is a composite of stories narrated by Tim O'Brien. While the book comes across as a war novel, it is superior to others of this genre, as O'Brien's insights into the past also serve as lessons for his readers on life, love, friendship, and morals.
O'Brien himself is the perfect example of the clash between the ideals held by the proponents and opponents of the Vietnam War. He, on one hand, is a college graduate and represents the typical intellectual who resists the war, but reluctantly enters the war upon the draft. While he stands firmly against the war, he is a confused college graduate whose future is unknown, and blindly enters the war to avoid the embarrassment not to. In some way, entering the war geographically and mentally separates O'Brien from his unknown future, and offers him a time to discover who he really is. Because he withstands ideals from both sides however, he becomes conflicted throughout the war in his journey of self-discovery. This problem is perhaps best illustrated through one of the prevalent themes in the novel, that all unknowingly carry burdens of their own. In O'Brien's case, his burden comes from self-identity and insecurity - on the battlefield, he is just as confused as he is at home. It would not be until many years later when he finally makes a mental trip to revisit his past that he rediscovers the lessons he should have learnt.
While the stories contain in-depth moral lessons of their own, O'Brien's tendency to jump from the past to present, or vice versa, often confuses me in the reading of the book. Therefore, it might be easier for a reader to perceive the stories separately, instead of grouping them together as a whole. Overall, O'Brien's use of realism in these stories impresses me the most, as his careful attention to detail puts on a human face amidst the 10,000 day war.

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The Things They Carried

This is a devastating account of war, written beautifully and with humor and insight. Our book club was overwhelmed by this fictional account; it should be required reading for everyone.

Something I needed

I happened to find this book in a pile of other books my mother had bought from a second hand store. I picked it up and started to read it, and I couldn't put it down. At the time, I was home on leave for 2 weeks from the Army. When I returned from leave, I would be deploying to Iraq. This book helped me realize, and eliminate some of the fears I had of going to war. Well, I'm in Iraq and have 4 more months to go. I plan to re-read this book when i get home and see how my experience relates to his. I highly encourage for anybody & everybody to pick up this book.

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