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gabbymd 's review for:
The Things They Carried
by Tim O'Brien
4.5/5
I'm not typically a war story fan but this book surprised me in the best way.
There are some books that try entirely too hard to be effortless or instances where they spoon feed their ideologies to the reader.
This book did the complete opposite.
Every chaptee was effortlessly touching and Tim Obrien's writing is so cathartic it's like he were talking to you. There are so many books recounting personal stories that can come off as pretentious but there is something about Obrien's writing that does the opposite. Although this story is fictional, Obrien does a marvelous job at humanizing these characters during one of their most dehumanizing experiences-- war. And I found myself tearing up at Kiowa's death and at Norman Bowker's chapter including his letter and imminent suicide.
This novel perfectly serves as a testament to how we, as humans, carry guilt and weakness and the loss of innocence and how life is often never the same after war.
My favorite quote:
“That's what fiction is for. It's for getting at the truth when the truth isn't sufficient for the truth.”
I'm not typically a war story fan but this book surprised me in the best way.
There are some books that try entirely too hard to be effortless or instances where they spoon feed their ideologies to the reader.
This book did the complete opposite.
Every chaptee was effortlessly touching and Tim Obrien's writing is so cathartic it's like he were talking to you. There are so many books recounting personal stories that can come off as pretentious but there is something about Obrien's writing that does the opposite. Although this story is fictional, Obrien does a marvelous job at humanizing these characters during one of their most dehumanizing experiences-- war. And I found myself tearing up at Kiowa's death and at Norman Bowker's chapter including his letter and imminent suicide.
This novel perfectly serves as a testament to how we, as humans, carry guilt and weakness and the loss of innocence and how life is often never the same after war.
My favorite quote:
“That's what fiction is for. It's for getting at the truth when the truth isn't sufficient for the truth.”