The Things They Carried

By: Tim O'Brien

Narrated by: Bryan Cranston

This modern classic and New York Times best seller was a finalist for both the 1990 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award and has become a staple of American classrooms. Hailed by The New York Times as "a marvel of storytelling", The Things They Carried’s portrayal of the boots-on-the-ground experience of soldiers in the Vietnam War is a landmark in war writing. Now, three-time Emmy Award winner Bryan Cranston, star of the hit TV series Breaking Bad, delivers an electrifying performance that walks the book’s hallucinatory line between reality and fiction and highlights the emotional power of the spoken word.

The soldiers in this collection of stories carried M-16 rifles, M-60 machine guns, and M-79 grenade launchers. They carried plastic explosives, hand grenades, flak jackets, and landmines. But they also carried letters from home, illustrated Bibles, and pictures of their loved ones. Some of them carried extra food or comic books or drugs. Every man carried what he needed to survive, and those who did carried their shattering stories away from the jungle and back to a nation that would never understand.

This audiobook also includes an exclusive recording “The Vietnam in Me,” a recount of the author’s trip back to Vietnam in 1994, revisiting his experience there as a soldier 25 years before, read by Tim O’Brien himself.

The Things They Carried was produced by Audible Studios in partnership with Playtone, the celebrated film and television production company founded by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, and producer of the award-winning series Band of Brothers, John Adams, and The Pacific, as well as the HBO movie Game Change.

For more from Audible and Playtone, click here.

©1990 Tim O'Brien (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Cranston may be the most charismatic embodiment of moral ambiguity we currently possess. There was always something comforting as well as menacing in Walter White's voice, and Cranston attacks O'Brien's sober, sinewy prose with slightly scary authority.... [I]f you were a binge-watcher of Breaking Bad it will be no big deal to spend six hours in his company here." ( The New York Times Book Review)

"Structurally the novel gestures to William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, while Ryan's sensitive observations on Irish life seem responsive to the work of his compatriot Patrick McCabe. That Ryan does not look out of place in such literary company is a measure of his achievement." ( The Financial Times)

"The best of these stories--and none is written with less than the sharp edge of honed vision--are memory and prophecy. These tell us not where we were but where we are, and perhaps where we will be. . . . It is an ultimate, indelible image of war in our time, and in time to come." ( Los Angeles Times)

"O'Brien's haunting collection of connected stories about the Vietnam War is more alive than ever in this narration. Bryan Cranston's resonant, sometimes formal, performance often leaves the listener reeling. Cranston's voice is deep and patient, laying back to let the characters' collective pain take the fore. Memorable scenes include a man's receipt of his draft notice in "On the Rainy River," battle scenes in "The Man I Killed," and aspects of the war's aftermath in "Speaking of Courage." In all the works, Cranston offers a measured, compassionate voice. O'Brien's stories emphasize the importance of telling the truth of war stories, and Cranston's respect for his intent is clear and comforting. At times, his sonorous tone is hypnotic, but this is more an asset than a liability. All the better to make the listener feel." ( AudioFile)

Too good to even say

What made the experience of listening to The Things They Carried the most enjoyable?

The way Tim O'Brien wrote this story keeps you pulled in the entire time. Even if you want to stop this book and start another you can't, it will not leave your mind.

What did you like best about this story?

Every aspect of this story was enjoyable. The characters kept me entertained, the amazing stories, and especially the way the stories are told. I love how the book does not only tell a simple story, but gives a real in-depth feel for raw war and the reality of it.

Any additional comments?

I almost did not write a review on this book because I know that any words I write will not do this book justice. It is a book that must be read yourself.

More Than I Expected

I thought this book would be a mildly interesting recounting about the objects carried by American soldiers (alive and dead) during the Vietnam War. It was more than I expected. It did include the objects soldiers carried, but the book was much more about the emotional baggage that soldiers carried before, during, and after the fighting. This was not a great book, the prose are just passable, the structure is hit and miss, the characters are fleeting, but the emotional content is worth the time. It explores soldiers and war from a unique and interesting perspective. I did not find the writing unpatriotic or even particularly anti-war. The narration was good, but not great.

Overall, this was well worth the time.

the power of storytelling

This is not a book of stories of the Vietnam War. It might look and sound that way, but it really isn't. It's more of a fictionalized autobiography of parts of the author's life, and an example of the healing power of storytelling. It's most interesting when he explains why the stories he's told are both true and untrue, and how stories can make someone alive and dead at the same time. I particularly liked the idea expressed by a character in one story that being dead is like being an unused library book high on a shelf: Safe, but waiting for someone to take you down and read - in essence waiting for someone to resurrect you by becoming involved in who you were and what you know. When someone does that, you become alive again, to them, for that time. That, to me, is the best message in the book. Not that war is hell or that war changes young men, but that the dead can become alive again though stories, and that people can be changed through storytelling.

"A lot like yesterday, a lot like never."

What did you love best about The Things They Carried?

The thing I loved the most about The Things They Carried was how real Tim O'Brien made it. Of course a lot of it was real and true.. some of it was made up to add more of a story feel, but most was real events. He goes on to explain this exceptionally well in the book. There was more than once where I sat listening and I wasn't in my car driving anymore, I was sitting in the boat with him and the old man, I was stuck scared sinking in the muck of a field of shit, I was seeing the horrors of what the Vietnam war was. I believe that was what O'Brien wanted. He said that he wanted the reader to feel what happened. For me, I felt it the best I could without actually experiencing it. This book was amazing and it definitely provokes emotions and feelings.

What did you like best about this story?

How it felt like I was part of Alpha company. It made me care about the soldiers and feel the hardships they went through. It also does a good job of showing the other side.. The Vietnam War was a very complicated event in our worlds history.

Have you listened to any of Bryan Cranston’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the only one I've listened to. I've seen him on shows of course, but never listened to him narrate a book. He did an amazing job.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and no. Yes because the story is engaging and it makes you feel. It's good and you want to know what happens. No because it makes you feel. I mean some of the stories were heart wrenching. I had to take a break just so I could collect my thoughts and process what I was hearing. This is a story that you'll want to sit on for a bit, to really think about what you're hearing.

Any additional comments?

This was my first book by Tim O'Brien. It was a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone. Definitely give it a try. I got it on sale and it was a steal. It's worth every penny.

Powerful, brutal and beautiful

A perfect match of writer and narrator. Even if you are not interested in war/combat/Vietnam, this is worth listening to. Beautiful prose, brutal and powerful, perfect narration by Bryan Cranston.

First Audio Book

This was my first audiobook. Tim O'Brien's words and Bryan Cranston's voice combined, makes me hate reading paper books.
The story is deep, makes you reflect on your life.

Just a snippet of what I expected

What did you like best about The Things They Carried? What did you like least?

It's a very important story - but it was too minimal. There was too much jumping around from one person to the next.

What did you like best about this story?

What they carried symbolizes important things that were left behind, undone, or to be looked forward to...

Excellent on all fronts

Would you listen to The Things They Carried again? Why?

Avsolutely. Both the work and the performance were absolutely top notch.

What does Bryan Cranston bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Bryan Cranston! Phenomenal actor with a fantastic voice bringing that talent to bear. Sometimes, one can tell that readers aren't putting their all into the work, but not here. He puts effort and an understanding and appreciation of the source material into his narration.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Wanted, yes. Able to, no.

Moving

I started working hard to get into university late in high school. I was pretty scattered and always had trouble sitting still long enough to study and wasn't sure I could handle college. But, I started hearing more about Vietnam. I didn't understand why we were there. The music of my generation was very much anti-war and I started hearing from two cousins who were serving in Vietnam. As they passed through on leave, I heard some talk, but was even more chilled by the silence at times. I decided that I had to go to university so I could at least get a deferment. When I turned 18, I got my draft number and it was low. In my first year of university, the draft was abolished. This book brought back those memories of whispered stories and added more. I am not anti - war, but war is a step that requires serious consideration not only about when to enter, but how to end it. This book underscores that. It shows the human side of war, as well as the inhuman side. It is thoughtful, open, and moving. I recommend it highly.

Stories I could relate to

brought back memories and stories that I could relate to, some hood some bad, like the author.