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kategci's review against another edition
5.0
I read this in anticipation of meeting with the author at a Pop-Up book group in NYC and I brought along my son as I had gifted him this book right after it was originally published. The stories were hard to read; violent, searing, sad and heart breaking. Hearing the author tell his story about the writing, the composition of the stories and the structure of the book was amazing (he just turned in his next manuscript to his publisher; when he goes out on book tour, you must go see him)! The stories are composites of people and situations he knew (he was an information officer deployed to Iraq) and they are very real. This has been out a while, but I recommend reading it no matter your political persuasion. For those who have never been in the Military it will make you look at War and Service a little differently. Survivor's guilt is such a part of these stories; "If you haven't given all, you have not given enough." This is a common belief of the men returning from deployment according to Mr. Klay. I will be thinking about this idea and book over Memorial Day and for many days to come.
caitlin_89's review against another edition
4.0
I dreaded this book going into it. I knew it wouldn't be fun. And it wasnt. It's not supposed to be. It's ugly and brutal and disgusting and sad. It's supposed to be.
I especially liked the way each story is told by a different narrator, but they're all in first person. It was confusing at first, but by the 4th story or so you get a sense of the intentional unity created by this technique. Another reviewer complained that it left no memorable characters because they all blurred into one - I'm pretty sure that's the point. Regardless of their war experience, each individual is identified by that experience more than by their personal foibles. Excellent writing. Not fun, but good.
I especially liked the way each story is told by a different narrator, but they're all in first person. It was confusing at first, but by the 4th story or so you get a sense of the intentional unity created by this technique. Another reviewer complained that it left no memorable characters because they all blurred into one - I'm pretty sure that's the point. Regardless of their war experience, each individual is identified by that experience more than by their personal foibles. Excellent writing. Not fun, but good.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
4.0
This collection of short stories is written by a veteran of the war in Iraq. Klay served in the Marines.
The stories are told from various perspectives and give voice to the mixture of feelings associated with a war.
I found the viewpoints to be quite varied and to smack of truth. The stories are compiled in an order that makes sense and culminate in the final story, "Ten Klicks South," whose last few lines are heavy and heartfelt.
I highly recommend this collection as it brings voice to the veterans of a war that continues to claim our soldiers.
The stories are told from various perspectives and give voice to the mixture of feelings associated with a war.
I found the viewpoints to be quite varied and to smack of truth. The stories are compiled in an order that makes sense and culminate in the final story, "Ten Klicks South," whose last few lines are heavy and heartfelt.
I highly recommend this collection as it brings voice to the veterans of a war that continues to claim our soldiers.
chefd's review against another edition
5.0
I never give a book 5 stars this early in the season. And I actually purchased it for someone not that they would appreciate.
ishi318's review against another edition
3.0
If I seem at all disturbed over the next few days, or even weeks, it is because of this wretched book!
jgilge's review against another edition
5.0
This book was absolutely brilliant. I loved that it wasn't just one long story, but a collection from different perspectives. This book was a blunt and brutal description of something that most of us don't really know or understand. I'm glad this book was written, and is getting the recognition it deserves.
I highly admire the author for relating all of these stories to us. I wish everyone would read this book just to gain a simple understanding of what people go through when they go to war.
Although this book was a very serious book, there was a sense of dark humor, rarely interspersed with light humor. Although, what else can we really expect from people who have gone through the things they have, and sacrificed so much.
I highly admire the author for relating all of these stories to us. I wish everyone would read this book just to gain a simple understanding of what people go through when they go to war.
Although this book was a very serious book, there was a sense of dark humor, rarely interspersed with light humor. Although, what else can we really expect from people who have gone through the things they have, and sacrificed so much.
katieshoe92's review against another edition
3.0
Parts of it were good and kept me captivated, but other parts I was struggling to get through.
jdintr's review against another edition
3.0
This is the fourth book of fiction about a War that was based on fictions--a war I opposed from the very start (seated in a Kurdish restaurant in Nashville amid cheers over the "shock and awe" exploding over the Baghdad skyline, no less). Why do I get myself into these things?
A love of good writing, I guess, and an effort to keep up with my students' interest for another. (Two of the novels I've read target young adults: Patricia McCormick's Purple Heart and Stephen Dau's The Book of Jonas, the other book remains the best book I've read on the subject, even better than Klay's, Kevin Powers's The Yellow Birds.
Klay's collection of short stories won the National Book Award earlier in 2015. War readers will recognized connections with Tim O'Brien's The Things We Carried, but redeployment is focused on a broader understanding of the Iraq War, whereas O'Brien spun most of his stories out of the experiences of one platoon.
Klay covers a lot of ground in these 12 stories: from the bittersweet return of Marines to Camp Lejeune, to the experiences of chaplains, adjutants, artillery personnel, and plenty of on-the-ground guys. He keeps the focus close to the war, with few references to the folks back home or the idiots bungling things at the highest levels of command.
His characters seem to be searching for the nobility of fighting--and (for those who make it to civilian life) confirmation of this nobility from a carefree American public. On the subject of nobility, one character, a Marine chaplain, writes in his journal:
That story, "Prayer in the Furnace," was probably my favorite of the collection. That, and "Ten Kliks South" about a young artilleryman who seeks confirmation of the Iraqis his crew might have killed on a strike six miles away only to be swayed by confirmation of his own flag-draped comrades headed home.
I don't come from a military background, so many of the acronyms were strange to me. I also felt that Klay, by trying to bring to life such a wide array of Marine experiences, may have missed the depth that a more narrow focus (see The Things They Carried and The Yellow Birds) can bring.
A love of good writing, I guess, and an effort to keep up with my students' interest for another. (Two of the novels I've read target young adults: Patricia McCormick's Purple Heart and Stephen Dau's The Book of Jonas, the other book remains the best book I've read on the subject, even better than Klay's, Kevin Powers's The Yellow Birds.
Klay's collection of short stories won the National Book Award earlier in 2015. War readers will recognized connections with Tim O'Brien's The Things We Carried, but redeployment is focused on a broader understanding of the Iraq War, whereas O'Brien spun most of his stories out of the experiences of one platoon.
Klay covers a lot of ground in these 12 stories: from the bittersweet return of Marines to Camp Lejeune, to the experiences of chaplains, adjutants, artillery personnel, and plenty of on-the-ground guys. He keeps the focus close to the war, with few references to the folks back home or the idiots bungling things at the highest levels of command.
His characters seem to be searching for the nobility of fighting--and (for those who make it to civilian life) confirmation of this nobility from a carefree American public. On the subject of nobility, one character, a Marine chaplain, writes in his journal:
I know it exists. There are so many stories, and some of them have to be true....
And yet, I have this sense that this place is holier than back home. Gluttonous, fat, oversexed, overconsuming, materialist home, where we're too lazy to see our own faults. At least here, Rodriguez has the decency to worry about hell.
That story, "Prayer in the Furnace," was probably my favorite of the collection. That, and "Ten Kliks South" about a young artilleryman who seeks confirmation of the Iraqis his crew might have killed on a strike six miles away only to be swayed by confirmation of his own flag-draped comrades headed home.
I don't come from a military background, so many of the acronyms were strange to me. I also felt that Klay, by trying to bring to life such a wide array of Marine experiences, may have missed the depth that a more narrow focus (see The Things They Carried and The Yellow Birds) can bring.
pattydsf's review against another edition
4.0
"Success was a matter of perspective. In Iraq it had to be. There was no Omaha Beach, no Vicksburg Campaign, not even an Alamo to signal a clear defeat." p.77
Klay's collection of short stories has been compared to The Things They Carried. It won the National Book Award. Klay has success and it is not just a matter of perspective. However, his characters stick with me because they have not always succeeded. They are not failures, but winning does not appear to be part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
I would not have read this book without The Tournament of Books (ToB). I know that I should read books that are written well, but are about hard subjects. However, I often want escape from my reading and Klay's book puts me in the heart of real life. I was avoiding these short stories.
That would have been a bad move on my part. I and many other readers need to hear the voices of Klay's narrators. We need to know what happened to the men and women who served in Iraq. I know that the people in this book are not real, but their stories are true. Truth does not depend on fact. It depends on how well the story is told. Klay tells these stories very well.
I recommend this book to readers of short stories, to bleeding heart liberals like myself who have distanced themselves from W's war, to hawks who think war is necessary and actually want to consider the answers the hard questions and to any reader who wants to read exceptional writing.
"...Marines, sailors and soldiers and airmen would have stood at attention as it traveled to the family of the fallen, where the silence, the stillness, would end." p. 288
Klay's writing will haunt me for awhile. And that is a good thing.
Klay's collection of short stories has been compared to The Things They Carried. It won the National Book Award. Klay has success and it is not just a matter of perspective. However, his characters stick with me because they have not always succeeded. They are not failures, but winning does not appear to be part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
I would not have read this book without The Tournament of Books (ToB). I know that I should read books that are written well, but are about hard subjects. However, I often want escape from my reading and Klay's book puts me in the heart of real life. I was avoiding these short stories.
That would have been a bad move on my part. I and many other readers need to hear the voices of Klay's narrators. We need to know what happened to the men and women who served in Iraq. I know that the people in this book are not real, but their stories are true. Truth does not depend on fact. It depends on how well the story is told. Klay tells these stories very well.
I recommend this book to readers of short stories, to bleeding heart liberals like myself who have distanced themselves from W's war, to hawks who think war is necessary and actually want to consider the answers the hard questions and to any reader who wants to read exceptional writing.
"...Marines, sailors and soldiers and airmen would have stood at attention as it traveled to the family of the fallen, where the silence, the stillness, would end." p. 288
Klay's writing will haunt me for awhile. And that is a good thing.
sfujii's review against another edition
2.0
I got two stories in, and could not continue. Very rare for me. I enjoy wartime novels. However, after having read The Things They Carried, something that I enjoy and appreciate on a literary and emotional level, this book fell below flat for me. The second story I didn't even have a clear sense of what was going on, because there was (in my opinion) an overuse of military vocabulary - so many abbreviations that are not collectively understood by those outside the service.
Maybe this was meant for veterans only, and perhaps they can appreciate it. But I felt the stories I read lacked depth and development, and so I had to move on.
Such a bummer - I was looking forward to this book.
Maybe this was meant for veterans only, and perhaps they can appreciate it. But I felt the stories I read lacked depth and development, and so I had to move on.
Such a bummer - I was looking forward to this book.