The Things They Carried, for my ex-work husband

14. Read The Things They Carried (Tim O’Brien).

I would recommend this book to anyone; it is simply phenomenal.  It's one of the few times I was struck by the urge to say something like, "This guy can really write."  It was really touching on several levels.  First, it really opened me to what experiences the Vietnam soldiers brought home with them.  Second, it made me think a lot about what our soldiers in the Middle East are going through now.

The book is technically fiction, but reads as non-fiction and it's really impossible to think of it as pure fiction.  I knew it was fiction, but halfway through I had to second guess myself and check the back cover to make sure.  The stories are so believeable that I can't help but believe it's 98% true in actuality.

I say that this is for my ex-work husband because my friend Peter recommended this book to me.  Peter and I shared an office as Teaching Assistants and would talk all the time.  Eventually I began referring to him as my work husband (although I didn't have a real husband yet then - just a fiance).  We had really great talks; he opened my eyes to a lot.  When I mentioned I was considering this book for teaching last year (I ended up not using it, though), his response was, "Oh, that's one of my favorite books of all time."  I knew then that I absolutely had to read it; that's why it gained its own spot on the 101 in 1001 list.  I didn't have time for extracurricular reading in grad school (too busy reading, writing, and grading) so I've just been holding on to this book for over a year now.  I'm so very glad I read it; it's one of those books that affects how you think about something - in this case, what it is we're asking of our young men and women when we send them into combat.

Comments

[7 Quick Tuesday Takes «]

[...] I got a FB messages from my ex-work husband yesterday.  It wasn’t quite perfunctory, but mainly a research assistance request with a few [...]