The Thing They Carried, by Tim O'Brien, is a masterpiece of war literature. It has everything one looks for in a good read: adventure, love and suspense, to name but a few. It doesn't have a definite plot; being more a compilation of short stories, each with their own point to get across. Tim O'Brien is a master of being able to pinpoint so eloquently the feelings that are always so difficult to explain, and does so with a beautiful, almost deadly grace.
"He says cooze. Then he spits and stares. He's nineteen years old—it's too much for him—so he looks at you with those big sad gentle killer eyes and says cooze, because his friend is dead, and because it's so incredibly sad and true: she never wrote back" (pg 69) is an example of O'Brien using his poetic way with words to get his point across softly and yet have a less-than-pleasant meaning. His stories never have truly happy endings, but in the end you feel better having read it.
O'Brien has a certain way with words that gives off an emptiness reminiscent of "Okay, I've just fought in a war, now what do I do?" It's not a glorified story filled with words to boost his own ego. Instead, he tells the same story multiple times, always from a different angle and perspective, adding in or taking away a certain detail.
It's O'Brien's spectacular storytelling skills that make this book what it is. It's not a terribly long collection, but it feels complete. It's truly a masterpiece that shows the horrors of war without being dull, and is also a work of art which is a good tool for aspiring writers to use to become better.
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