The Things They Carried

This just happens to be one of the most interesting books I have ever read. Not because it is happy or tells some great and amazing story. No, but what it does do is tell storys that make you feel certain ways. Not always good feelings but ultimately I have never read a book that has played with the way I feel so much.

Tim O'Brian believes that it doesn't matter how true a story is but weather or not the message or affect of the storry still remains true. He mentions this many times in his book. Telling stories about a real event as if he saw them happen or one of his buddies partook in it. But then will say that might have never happened. Referring to soldiers storys as never fully true. And also a true war story will never make you happy. Or have a good moral at the end. In fact, he says if it makes you feel that way then it never really happened in that war. His outlook on soldiers is very interesting. And because he did actually serve he has every right to these opinions. He honostly believes that heroism doesn't really exist and instead a soldier just does things out of reflex or adrenaline that we would say is heroic and yet he just did it because he was scared basicly. I'm not sure if that is the whole picture but it definately is an interesting way of looking at it.