E-book
The things they carried a work of fiction
Record details
- ISBN: 9780547420295 (electronic bk.)
- ISBN: 0547420293 (electronic bk.)
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Physical Description:
electronic resource
remote
1 online resource (273 p.) - Publisher: Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
Content descriptions
| Formatted Contents Note: | Things they carried -- Love -- Spin -- On the Rainy River -- Enemies -- Friends -- How to tell a true war story -- Dentist -- Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong -- Stockings -- Church -- Man I killed -- Ambush -- Style -- Speaking of courage -- Notes -- In the field -- Good form -- Field trip -- Ghost soldiers -- Night life -- Lives of the dead. |
| Source of Description Note: | Description based on print version record. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Fiction Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Veterans -- Fiction |
| Genre: | Psychological fiction. Electronic books. |
Other Formats and Editions
Electronic resources
Summary:
The Things They Carried depicts the men of Alpha Company: Jimmy Cross, Henry Dobbins, Rat Kiley, Mitchell Sanders, Norman Bowker, Kiowa, and of course, the character Tim O'Brien who has survived his tour in Vietnam to become a father and writer at the age of forty-three. They battle the enemy (or maybe more the idea of the enemy), and occasionally each other. In their relationships we see their isolation and loneliness, their rage and fear. They miss their families, their girlfriends and buddies; they miss the lives they left back home. Yet they find sympathy and kindness for strangers (the old man who leads them unscathed through the mine field, the girl who grieves while she dances), and love for each other, because in Vietnam they are the only family they have. We hear the voices of the men and build images upon their dialogue. The way they tell stories about others, we hear them telling stories about themselves. With the creative verve of the greatest fiction and the intimacy of a searing autobiography, The Things They Carried is a testament to the men who risked their lives in America's most controversial war. It is also a mirror held up to the frailty of humanity. Ultimately The Things They Carried and its myriad protagonists call to order the courage, determination, and luck we all need to survive.
