The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien (Kindle)

While I have read dozens of books on World War II, I have very little experience with those written about Vietnam. So when I heard over and over again that Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” is considered the quintessential Vietnam novel, so much that the 20th anniversary of its publication was recently celebrated, I had no way to personally confirm or deny. All I knew is that it stunned me. I have never read a war novel quite like this one.

Because my husband’s family is from Poland, we are emotionally immersed in the WWII history. But Vietnam? My father was excused from the draft because my mom was pregnant with me. Nobody in my family had any connection with this war. However, my husband and I have a very close friend who did fight in Nam as a Marine, and every time we get together with him and his wife, I am reminded of this fact. He carries his Vietnam experiences with him, inside his heart, every day of his life. He guards them closely, even with his most intimate friends, but I see it all there right beneath the surface. Maybe reading this book would help me understand.

I believe this novel has served several important purposes for O’Brien, who fought in Vietnam. First and foremost, I believe this was the ultimate therapy for him – a way to tell the TRUTH about what really happened over there. He writes honestly and with candor about his emotional and physical reaction to being drafted…something he had never told anyone and which caused him great embarrassment. He writes about his most nightmarish experiences, getting them out of his dreams and down on paper, with the hope perhaps that in the daylight, it will lose some of its power over his psyche. He admits to a childish feud he had with another soldier, an act of revenge that was fueled by an anger he couldn’t control.

But beyond exorcising his personal demons, more importantly O’Brien also gives a voice to every soldier who fought in Vietnam. He explains WHY soldiers had to treat death as a joke. Why imagination was a killer. Why most war stories were 90% baloney. He reveals, via a devastating story of one of his friends, how incredibly hard it was for some to return to the US and resume a normal life. Who did they have to talk to? Who would understand?

It was not easy to read this book. I would need to set it down and walk away often, and nearly dread picking it back up again. But once I did, I was riveted. It was a strange mixture of emotions. The writing is easy, open, but insightful and introspective. His stories are vivid and often disturbing. But you do walk away with a better appreciation for the horrors of this war, from one soldier’s perspective which I am sure mirrors many. I tried to imagine what it would be like to read this book as a veteran and could never come to a conclusion. Would I be angry? Would I feel validated? Would it bring it all back to me? It would be impossible for me to say.

And what about the things they carried? What does the title of the book mean? “The things they carried were largely determined by necessity.” Pocket knives, can openers, lighters, water. “What they carried was partly a function of rank, partly of field specialty.” Maps, radios, binoculars, weapons. “What they carried varied by mission.” Mosquito netting, machetes, tarps, mine detectors. “They all carried ghosts.” Pictures, Bibles, a girlfriend’s pantyhose. “The things they carried were determined to some extent by superstition.” A good luck pebble, a rabbit’s foot, a shrunken thumb. “For the most part, they carried themselves with poise, a kind of dignity.” Not all things carried were tangible, but spiritual.

“…for all the ambiguities of Vietnam, all the mysteries and unknowns, there was at least the single abiding certainty that they would never be at a loss for things to carry.”

5 out of 5 stars