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Cover of The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

The Things They Carried

by Tim O’Brien

War and grief carried in ordinary objects and unsaid feelings.

Published
1990
Setting
Vietnam
Era
Shelf rating
4.6

The story, briefly

Spoiler-free

Connected stories follow soldiers in Vietnam through fear, friendship, shame, death, love, and memory.

Why we recommend it

  1. A restrained companion

    War and grief carried in ordinary objects and unsaid feelings.

What this book explores

Book editions

Paperback
Paperback

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References

References

The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document The Things They Carried, its publication, and its place in literary history.

  1. 1The Things They Carried — Open Library ISBN catalogue

    Official record
    Open Library, Internet Archive
    Used for

    Open Library ISBN catalogue used to verify the title, ISBN, and publication metadata.

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  2. 2The Things They Carried — Google Books edition record

    Official record
    Google Books
    Used for

    Google Books catalogue record used to cross-check the title and edition metadata.

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  1. 3The Things They Carried — Internet Archive ISBN catalogue

    Official record
    Internet Archive
    Used for

    Internet Archive ISBN catalogue used to cross-check the edition and its availability in library holdings.

    View source

  2. 4The Things They Carried — Library of Congress books catalogue

    Official record
    Library of Congress
    Used for

    Library of Congress books catalogue used to cross-check the bibliographic record by ISBN.

    View source
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Why these sources are here

The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.

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