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Jaline's Reviews > The Things They Carried
The Things They Carried
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These connected stories are about young men in their late teens and early twenties doing their best to carry the weight of a brutal war on their shoulders, along with dozens of pounds of field kit and weaponry. They carry so much weight it is hard to even imagine how they could walk the miles they did, crossing rivers, muddy streams, up hills and down into valleys, somehow placing one foot in front of the other while their eyes and ears scan for danger.
The equipment is not all they carry. Some carry guilt, some carry cowardice, some carry aggression, some carry courage, some carry fear, some carry righteousness, some carry hatred, and some carry doubt. Of all the feelings they carry, the weight of futility has to be the hardest to bear. Maybe futility isn’t the right word. They carry with them the knowledge that where they are and what they are doing is all the choice they have. Short of doing damage to themselves to be airlifted out of there, they all carry the weight of being stuck.
These stories don’t stop with the horror and macabre humour of being part of a platoon of young men in war. There is also a story about what one of them experienced after the war. His need to talk about it and his inability to do so. His recognition that he needs purposeful work versus his doubt that any such thing exists any more.
Tim O’Brien’s writing is exceptional. With one sentence he can cut to the heart of an event. Occasionally he uses repetition of a scene or sequence that made me feel I was there, living it, then re-living the shock of it, trying to find the sense in it.
This book does not go into the politics of war and does not mention the hawks sitting behind huge desks with lovely scenery outside their windows, busy directing traffic regardless of what the cost in human lives may be. So, I won’t go into it, either.
This book is about being in the thick of the traffic � driving blind in a night so dark there is no difference between eyes-open and eyes-closed. It is about not knowing � if you have enough gas, if a tire will blow, if the vehicle will overheat, if it will be blown up into the trees or bogged down and sunk in a field of sewage. It is about being one of many little vehicles with two legs and heavy burdens to carry and not knowing if you will ever see home again.
This was a Traveling Sisters Group read with Brenda, Diane, JanB, Marialyce, and Nikki. This was a great choice for a Group read and discussion and I enjoyed it a lot. For more reviews of this book as well as many others, visit the Sisters blog at
The equipment is not all they carry. Some carry guilt, some carry cowardice, some carry aggression, some carry courage, some carry fear, some carry righteousness, some carry hatred, and some carry doubt. Of all the feelings they carry, the weight of futility has to be the hardest to bear. Maybe futility isn’t the right word. They carry with them the knowledge that where they are and what they are doing is all the choice they have. Short of doing damage to themselves to be airlifted out of there, they all carry the weight of being stuck.
These stories don’t stop with the horror and macabre humour of being part of a platoon of young men in war. There is also a story about what one of them experienced after the war. His need to talk about it and his inability to do so. His recognition that he needs purposeful work versus his doubt that any such thing exists any more.
Tim O’Brien’s writing is exceptional. With one sentence he can cut to the heart of an event. Occasionally he uses repetition of a scene or sequence that made me feel I was there, living it, then re-living the shock of it, trying to find the sense in it.
This book does not go into the politics of war and does not mention the hawks sitting behind huge desks with lovely scenery outside their windows, busy directing traffic regardless of what the cost in human lives may be. So, I won’t go into it, either.
This book is about being in the thick of the traffic � driving blind in a night so dark there is no difference between eyes-open and eyes-closed. It is about not knowing � if you have enough gas, if a tire will blow, if the vehicle will overheat, if it will be blown up into the trees or bogged down and sunk in a field of sewage. It is about being one of many little vehicles with two legs and heavy burdens to carry and not knowing if you will ever see home again.
This was a Traveling Sisters Group read with Brenda, Diane, JanB, Marialyce, and Nikki. This was a great choice for a Group read and discussion and I enjoyed it a lot. For more reviews of this book as well as many others, visit the Sisters blog at
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Jan 20, 2018 02:23PM
I hope you are enjoying this one Jaline - O'Brien is such a talented author. I own this book and I've been intending to read it for a while now. Since I grew up during this war I'm really drawn to books about the Vietnam War.
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``Laurie wrote: "I hope you are enjoying this one Jaline - O'Brien is such a talented author. I own this book and I've been intending to read it for a while now. Since I grew up during this war I'm really drawn to books about the Vietnam War."I am enjoying this a lot - intensely thought-provoking and it is inspiring some great discussions with the Traveling Sisters Group. Tim O'Brien is a fabulous writer!
This one of those books that, when I first read it, seemed to make time stop. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I did, Jaline!
Michael wrote: "This one of those books that, when I first read it, seemed to make time stop. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I did, Jaline!"Thank you, Michael, I did enjoy it immensely! I have now finished it and will post a review once the discussions are wound down. Your description of it seeming to make time stop is so perfect.
Oh I LOVED this book. Wow was it powerful. I eagerly await your review!
Jaline wrote: "Michael wrote: "This one of those books that, when I first read it, seemed to make time stop. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I did, Jaline!"Thank you, Michael, I did enjoy it immensely! I h..."
Thank you, Jaline. I look forward to your review!
Chris wrote: "Oh I LOVED this book. Wow was it powerful. I eagerly await your review!"Thank you, Chris - I loved it, too!! Soooo much, for all kinds of reasons! I am also looking forward to sharing my review :)
Michael wrote: "Thank you, Jaline. I look forward to your review!"You are welcome - and so kind of you, Michael! I am looking forward to sharing! :)
Paul wrote: "I'll be waiting in bated breath. :)"It should be soon, Paul! In the meantime, please don't forget to BREATHE! hahaha
Quite a number of other people on my list enjoyed this one as well. Nice review! Sounds like an interesting approach with the various stories, certainly not what you'd expect.
Books about war are hard to read. Your empathic review drew attention to the immediacy of the young men’s experience in the trenches, Jaline. What a load they had to bear. Touching.
I love this book, and when I read it, I had no idea that Tim O'Brien is the well-known journalist who is now all over the news because of his famous Trump biography!
That final paragraph - wow. "Exceptional" review.
It is beautiful to see this book through your eyes. Thank you Jaline.
Stellar review Jaline! Sounds like an incredibly powerful read!
Very moving review Jaline! I loved reading it with you and the sisters!
So glad we all had the opportunity to read this book together. Great review, Jaline.
Excelllent review Jaline. So happy you enjoyed this one!
Fantastic review, Jaline! I haven’t read this but I’ve meaning to for years. This book is adopted as course material at the higher ed level here in the states
Such a fabulous review Jaline😄
Bobby wrote: "Quite a number of other people on my list enjoyed this one as well. Nice review! Sounds like an interesting approach with the various stories, certainly not what you'd expect."Thank you, Bobby! Several of us did this as a Group read and we all enjoyed it, even though it was a difficult read in many ways. 😊
Laysee wrote: "Books about war are hard to read. Your empathic review drew attention to the immediacy of the young men’s experience in the trenches, Jaline. What a load they had to bear. Touching."Thank you so much for your very kind comment, Laysee. And I agree that their burden was huge.
Betsy wrote: "I love this book, and when I read it, I had no idea that Tim O'Brien is the well-known journalist who is now all over the news because of his famous Trump biography!"I didn't know that he wrote a Trump biography, too - that is definitely interesting.
Wyndy wrote: "That final paragraph - wow. "Exceptional" review."Thank you so much, Wyndy - you are very kind and I appreciate you. 😊
Celia wrote: "It is beautiful to see this book through your eyes. Thank you Jaline."Thank you for your lovely comment, Celia!
Susanne wrote: "Stellar review Jaline! Sounds like an incredibly powerful read!"Thank you for such a wonderful comment, Susanne - and it was indeed a very powerful read - and generated some great discussions, too, although I think we all felt the weight of their many burdens by then.
JanB wrote: "Very moving review Jaline! I loved reading it with you and the sisters!"Thank you so much, Jan! I loved reading it with you and the sisters, too! 😊
Marialyce wrote: "So glad we all had the opportunity to read this book together. Great review, Jaline."Thank you, Marialyce, and I am glad we all were able to read this together, too. It was painful to read and discuss but would have been even harder without everyone to share with.
Holly wrote: "Excelllent review Jaline. So happy you enjoyed this one!"Thank you so much, Holly! 😊
Tammy wrote: "Fantastic review, Jaline! I haven’t read this but I’ve meaning to for years. This book is adopted as course material at the higher ed level here in the states"Thank you for your great comment, Tammy! I can see why this would make good course material - there is a lot to be learned from in this and because the field soldiers were so young, I think young people could relate to them easier.
Maureen wrote: "Such a fabulous review Jaline😄"Thank you so much for your kind comment, Maureen! 😊
Hajar wrote: "Terrific review, Jaline!! So glad you loved it😊"Thank you very much, Hajar! It was a very moving experience, for sure! 😊
You captured so beautifully what i imagined this book wanted to convey, the humanity in spite of the futility. I'm sorry I missed the discussion, but given what you've said it remains steadfastly on my list.
Victoria wrote: "You captured so beautifully what i imagined this book wanted to convey, the humanity in spite of the futility. I'm sorry I missed the discussion, but given what you've said it remains steadfastly on my list."Thank you for your lovely comment, Victoria - I really appreciate it. I'm sorry you missed this one, too, but I'm happy that it is still on your list and that I still have your review to look forward to! 😊
Julie wrote: "Wow! Incredible review, Jaline!!"Thank you so much for your great comment, Julie! 😊
Marita wrote: "That sounds like an awful amount of weight to carry. Great review, Jaline."You said it truly, Marita - and thank you so much for your kind comment! 😊
Excellent review, Jaline. I've intended to read this for a long time. Perhaps I've been avoiding the weight of the reading experience by my delay.
Sue wrote: "Excellent review, Jaline. I've intended to read this for a long time. Perhaps I've been avoiding the weight of the reading experience by my delay."Thank you so much, Sue. It is an incredible read - likely one that a person should prepare themselves for and be in the mood for - before they dive in.
Ushasree wrote: "Wonderful review. :)"Thank you very much for commenting, Ushasree! 😊
Betsy wrote: "I love this book, and when I read it, I had no idea that Tim O'Brien is the well-known journalist who is now all over the news because of his famous Trump biography!"Hi Betsy! You can rest easy now - I did some other checking into this and the journalist who wrote "TrumpNation - The Art of Being the Donald" is actually Timothy L. O'Brien (b. 1961), not W. Timothy O'Brien (b. 1946) - our author. 😊
I was told recently by a Royal Marine that in the Gulf War, soldiers carried on average 40kg each, whereas on D-Day all they carried was 100 rounds - for a four month deployment.
Fantastic review Jaline! Glad you enjoyed your sister read!!
What a terrific review Jaline! I’m so happy to see this was such a great sister read! 😊💕
I agree what a terrific review, Jaline! So glad you enjoyed! 🌸
John wrote: "I was told recently by a Royal Marine that in the Gulf War, soldiers carried on average 40kg each, whereas on D-Day all they carried was 100 rounds - for a four month deployment."That's definitely interesting, John! I'm wondering if they carried so much extra in Vietnam due to being so far from supplies stations? Maybe also partly because they had so many more extreme terrains to deal within close proximity to each other.
Excellent review, Janine....amazing. :)
Kaceey wrote: "Fantastic review Jaline! Glad you enjoyed your sister read!!"Thank you so much, Kaceey! I really loved our discussions based on group questions that Brenda had found. The slower pace we took with this one was good, too, as it gave us time to absorb and think and feel and share with each other.
