Tim O'Brien reads tonight from "The Things They Carried"

Thursday, March 25th

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We're talking about "telling detail" in my BU class. The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien's Vietnam novel, is basically based on the concept. He uses the love letters, foot powder, weed, and canned peaches these soldier carry though the jungle to tell their stories. A Vietnam vet himself, he should know. Also, you can use your ticket after the reading for $5 off the book. See you there.  TIM O’BRIEN celebrates the 20th anniversary of The Things They Carried $5 tickets are on sale now Harvard Book Store is thrilled to welcome memoirist, novelist, and short story writer TIM O’BRIEN as he reads from and discusses his acclaimed work of fiction, The Things They Carried. Since its first publication twenty years ago, The Things They Carried has become an unparalleled Vietnam testament, a classic work of American literature, and a profound study of men at war that illuminates the capacity and the limits of the human heart and soul. They carried malaria tablets, love letters, 28-pound mine detectors, illustrated Bibles, and each other. And if they made it home alive, they carried unrelenting images of a nightmarish war that history is only beginning to absorb. The Things They Carried won France’s prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize; it was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. "Only a handful of novels and short stories have managed to clarify, in any lasting way, the meaning of the war in Vietnam for America and for the soldiers who served there. With The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien adds his second title to the short list of essential fiction about Vietnam. As he did in his novelGoing After Cacciato (1978), which won a National Book Award, he captures the war’s pulsating rhythms and nerve-racking dangers. But he goes much further. By moving beyond the horror of the fighting to examine with sensitivity and insight the nature of courage and fear, by questioning the role that imagination plays in helping to form our memories and our own versions of truth, he places The Things They Carried high up on the list of best fiction about any war." —The New York Times 7:00 PM LOCATION: First Parish Church Meetinghouse On the corner of Mass. Ave. and Church St. Cambridge TICKETS: $5 tickets are ON SALE NOW, and are available for purchase online at harvard.com, at Harvard Book Store, and over the phone with a credit card (617.661.1515)