Tim O'Brien - The Things They Carried

Joel Lardner

I am currently rereading The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, in preparation for the arrival of said Tim O'Brien in Grand Forks, this Thursday.

I'm always a little torn when it comes to war stories, because I often feel like it's science fiction in a biographical cloak. That is not to say I think war stories are science fiction, but what often happens is the stories which are so unbelievable, yet true, get reduced to the normal stories of war. I realize part of the message of these kinds of books and part of the effects of being in a war is that the fantastic and horrifying become nondescript, and day to day - in a way that people can or cannot manage.

However, I do not believe that the transition from non-war to war for drafted soldiers would also be so "by the book." Some live, some die, some freak out, some get medals, some tell the stories, some make the stories, some struggle more, some struggle less - like it's just the experience of a normal section of humanity dropped into a unusual situation. The movie Dangerous Minds comes to mind (thanks to the new version being made), or any of about 1,000 stories.

In stories, most people 1) survive their unusual experience, 2) do not end up with PTSD.

I haven't decided on Tim O' Brien's stories. I read them in high school, and now I'm reading them again in a slightly different world. The really strange part about all of this is that war stories are often written by soldiers - soldiers who did or saw or lived the stories they are telling, and here I am saying it's too easy to make the stories normal - why not pull a Superman out of war? Are the soldiers who come back the same kids who left? Are the soldiers who come back the same soldiers who were in combat? I would argue not, but then someone will inevitable ask if we are ever the same after life-changing experiences, and I would argue that yes, many people are the same, but in war, most people are not. High school graduation is is the first step toward major life changes, but it is not what drives the personality change.

Ok, ok, I'm getting carried away before I've even reread a third of the book, I'm "responding to." I may or may not come back to this, but it is all to say that Tim O'Brien is coming here on Thursday and I'm excited for some academic social activities.