The Things They Carried

Tim O'Brien created something fascinatingly unique when he wrote the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critic Circle Award nominated 'The Things They Carried.' Simply described as 'a work of fiction' on the title page, O'Brien retells the stories of the time he spent at war in such a way that the reader cannot always decipher whether the event was real or fake, but they still feel the impact. The story follows O'Brien and his platoon of fellow American soldiers as they defend their country in the Vietnam War. But this isn't your typical war novel.

'The Things They Carried' is comprised of 22 short stories that don't immediately connect with one another other than their relation to the Vietnam War. The first of which, the self-titled 'The things they carried,' being an extensive and detailed list of everything a soldier has on him at all times as well as how much it weighs. Fear, guilt and horror are included into the measurements. Members of the platoon are slowly introduced and their stories shared, whether it's why a man wears pantyhose around his neck or during combat or the need of another for a dentist to pull a perfectly good tooth. They become a family. The book is written in such a way that when a man shares an experience, the entire group feels as if it already happened to them. It covers what goes through someone's head prewar, the excitement and turmoil in the midst of combat and the depression and anxiety that comes postwar.

Tim O'Brien is often commended on 'The Things They Carried' on the way he provokes emotion by telling nonfiction events fictitiously. Who could ever imagine how it feels to kill a man if they never even laid a hand on a weapon before in their life? O'Brien depicts the experience. Veterans who have been to war can appreciate the difference between O'Brien's 'truth story' and 'happening story' the same way readers of war can relate to the realness and sincerity of the characters and descriptions of events. Readers will walk away from the novel deeply affected in a way that truly allows them to count their blessings and appreciate a simple life.