the far side of yourself…

The Things They Carried

by Tim O’Brien (b1946)

New York: Broadway Books, 1990

273 pages

Tim O’Brien is a Vietnam war veteran.

If you served in the Vietnam war, you have a perspective for reading The Things They Carried.

If you didn’t go to Vietnam, you have a different perspective.

If you weren’t born until after the war ended, you have a different perspective.

Tim O’Brien speaks to you, read his words any way you want.

All of us are still carrying some of the things we carried in those years.

Can anyone point to feelings that haven’t changed since then?

Whether you’re a veteran or not, O’Brien invites you to get “in touch with the far side of yourself” (p. 123).

The Things They Carried is about burdens and our capacity to accept them.

* * * * * *

–

* * * * * *