Inside a Soldier's Head and Heart

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	• The Things They Carried Tim O'Brien Broadway, 1998 - 272 pages average customer review:based on 695 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The human side of war

'The Things They Carried' is the 2007 selection for the Eden Prairie Reads initiative. I was a little hesitant at first, unsure of how well I'd enjoy a collection of Vietnam War stories. The book is less about gunfire and battles won or lost, and more of a peek inside the head of the men involved - doubt, terror, obsession, camaraderie, death, survival instinct, the psychological turmoil of going home, and ultimately, for some, closure.

Although considered a work of fiction, one gets the feeling that all of the stories have some basis in reality. In fact, several times the author refers to himself as being present in the stories. As a reader, I felt some frustrating in not being able to determine what was true.

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Remarkable

This is a must-read book. The Things They Carried constantly forces the reader to question the nature of Truth. Is this real? Could this have possibly happened? Is he lying here? What IS real?
And... in the end... does it really matter?

This book also brings the reader closer to the war in Vietnam, which was a tough time and also, for many, a very confusing time in American History. This book does not, however, present the reader with a historical/political view of the war. No. It brings the reader face to face with the everyday soldier. It brings out some of the horrible realities of the war that future generations could have no clue about.
Finally, this book brings home the message that war is not "romantic." It's horrible. It's bloody. And, all too often there is no glory in war, no honor... IT JUST IS.

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This book read like a memoir

or should I say this book read like Tim O'Brien's memoir "If I die in a combat zone" "The things they carried" is a fictional account of being in and out of the Vietnam War, it was worth the read..the two books overlap a lot!

Inside a Soldier's Head and Heart

An amazing book that succeeds in portraying what it was like for the ones who were sent to Vietnam. The difficulty of the telling shows through as the story comes out in pieces that ultimately are woven together for an intense read. There are some gruesome scenes and brutal actions that you come to understand are just normal under the extreme circumstances of war. Fantastic storytelling that shares what these soldiers have to carry inside them.

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Personal and touching

This is a moving book. A beautiful metaphor for a title. "The things they carried" sums up what this is about - the hopes and fears these soldiers brought, and took away, from war.

Tim's style jumps - there are times when you feel like he is "writing like a novel writer", with the usual eloquence, well-thought out structure expected from a great work of fiction. The first part of the book is in this style and is great in it's own way.

However, there are times when you can feel like you are reading his private journal. You can sense that he is not writing for me or for you in that moment, but rather for himself - to remember, to just make sense of it all. In these parts, the writing is so raw and honest it is hard to imagine not being moved. His fears, the sense of hope, and finally the courage, become real. (Specifically the portion where he was contemplating escaping the draft.) Sometimes I felt like I was just reading my own journal because of his voice...those were the most powerful moments and for that alone, worth the whole book.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, page 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

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