"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

I spent a substantial portion of 2011 living in Vietnam. I have been greatly interested in reading anything I find pertaining to the U.S./Vietnam conflict as a consequence. There was something about the binding of this book that caught my eye from across the thrift store floor. I'm a sucker for any book bound in paperback with the orange tag on the top corner. It tells me that this is a book that could, and very likely has, been included in syllabi. I had a week of vacation so "The Things They Carried" was thrown in my bag for the trip. Instead of a cohesive through line narrative, O'Brien takes us through his Vietnam experience in an emotionally engaging piecemeal manner. Characters which are introduced will appear in later chapters, some even have later chapters revolve around them. Reading this book helped bring home for me they reality of what our young men were put through in the Vietnam War. Making friends like they are in their first year of college, but, on this campus, people can be killed anytime. The way O'Brien pens his ideas, characters, incidents is unique and haunting. I, for one, will remember many of these characters and their stories. I feel this gives me a new and more realistic understanding of the Vietnam War.