The Things They Carried

They carried malaria tablets, love letters, 28-pound mine detectors, dope, illustrated Bibles, each other. And, if they made it home alive, they carried unrelenting images of a nightmarish war that history is only beginning to absorb. Since its first publication, The Things They Carried has become an unparalleled Vietnam testament, a classic work of American literature, and a profound study of men at war that illuminates the capacity, and the limits, of the human heart and soul.

--Random House

Profound, heartbreaking, thought-provoking war literature at its finest, this novel isn't content to simply explore the emotional lives of soldiers. Instead, The Things We Carried begs the reader to question the very nature of life, death, and survival. Not only does the book engage with the invisible scars of battle and the PTSD that results from combat, but it also alludes to the destructive psychology of nationalism and imperialism and the folly of concepts such as valor, honor, and truth. In a passage early on, the narrator declares, "In war you lose your sense of the definite, hence your sense of truth itself, and therefore it's safe to say that in a true war story nothing is ever absolutely true."

The writing is blunt but vivid, deep but relatable, concise but somehow expansive. O'Brien's writings (including the memoir If I Die in a Combat Zone and the novel Going After Cacciato) are considered essential to the Vietnam War canon for a reason. And The Things They Carried is a perfect example of how literature can add to our understanding of history when it engages authentically with the people who lived through the events being discussed.

--CommonSense Media