The Things They Carried

By: Tim O'Brien

Narrated by: Bryan Cranston

Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

pretty good

good book. good story telling. with unexpected take on the war, not as sympathetic as I thought going in. repeats at times

Great Narration

This is one of my favorite books and the narration for this version does it justice. Absolutely powerful novel. I think everyone should have to read this book.

Rich man's war

His memories let us know what was wrong with this war & it's sad these young men had to live through it, along with the people of Vietnam.

Excellent story telling

This was not a book that was required reading in my school days, but I wish it had been. I may not be on the same page politically with the author, but he opens the reader’s eyes to what the Vietnam war was to him (and I’m sure many others). I have a son in the army and I hope he never has to experience anything like this. I thank all of the service people who did what they had to in order to survive.

Impacting

The book is about the writers experience in Vietnam during the war.
Having friends that went to “Nam” it brought back many of their stories. I remembered articles that were written about the war. And, of course, I remember the news on television.
Hearing it laid out by narrator Brian Cranston, the stories are so real and vivid.
It was impacting.
I did not give it a full 5 as the book had a glitch in the middle where it repeats itself. Not sure if that was just a glitch or if written that way. It was slightly confusing.
I would recommend this book, but it’s not for the faint of heart. It truly captures the horror of war.

Pleased.

I enjoyed this reading. Great voice presentation and overall story. Definitely pleased with this selection.

A Brilliant tragedy of the human experience.

War is written by many authors to be heroic or tragic. Something occurring. Sometimes it’s a backdrop. This story feels different. Dark but not in a way you want to crawl in a ditch after. More you just want to think about the whole thing. Cranston was brilliant.

Sad Ended - Left Wondering if Anything Can Compare

Any additional comments?

The whole thing is simply awesome. I've never watched Breaking Bad, but I'm now a fan of Bryan Cranston. His delivery is great. I love the way he finds an individual voice for the characters. The ending, read by Tim O'Brien himself, was very moving. I found myself wishing it wasn't over. I sort of feel like "now what"? I hope to find something as great as this on audible.com....I'm hopeful, yet skeptic.

a modern classic

It's been all over Audible for some time now: a great war story and narrated by Bryan Cranston! Let's get the obvious over with first: Cranston is incredible and you could buy this book on his involvement alone. That said, let's talk about the book, it's mostly good points and its few downsides.

The Things They Carried is small stories, not very interconnected, from Vietnam. They are not in order and they do not connect at the end to tell some larger story. But they paint a wonderful mosaic of how soldiers come back from war traumatized and we can understand the mental plight of soldiers who were witness to horror. We'll look at stories of men drowning, firefights, trying to dodge the draft, and coming home from war and not being able to integrate into society again. These are nearly perfect moments in time and told with such precision and care that you'll be astounded. My favorite story was of a soldier coming home and driving around a lake, wondering if there is anyone he could tell his story to, the story of how he almost won the Medal of Valor.

But the author doesn't know how to end the book and it slows down and then just stops. I wish there was more there, that there was a more impactful story to end on, but for me the least interesting moments of the book are at the end. Afterward is a short story separate from the book, read by the author. He is not the narrator that Cranston is, but do listen to this story, it is exceptional. If only it had been the end of the book...

Do buy this book, it's not only good, I dare to say it's important.

Meandering

While the explicit imagery sows the savagery and fear that I could only dream of, his memoirs seem desperate and shallow.

I guess there are precious lessons that only experience can teach, but this left me a little depressed