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liberrydude's review against another edition
5.0
Pretty visceral and spot on from the stories in the AO to those on the homefront. Stories about chaplains, artillerymen, civilian contractors, etc.. you name it-- the former Marine in law school checking the DOD news releases for names he hopes he doesn't know-it's all there and perfectly told. This is the second great book produced by a veteran and former public affairs officer-the other one was Fobbit. Perhaps if the politicians would read these stories and the poetry of Brian Turner they would be a bit slower in sending our forces into harm's way.
manaledi's review against another edition
5.0
This is everything a war book should be. It's the modern, Iraq-war version of [b:The Things They Carried|133518|The Things They Carried|Tim O'Brien|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1297915473s/133518.jpg|1235619]. It reminds you how little a civilian can really know about the reality of a soldier, and how there is no one reality.
veliciajerus's review against another edition
3.0
Good stories but narrators blend
The stories were good, well-written, and sturdy; however, the narrators really started to blur into one. There wasn’t enough diversity or tone change between each. I enjoyed the pocket pussy story, “In Vietnam they had whores.” It made me laugh and hurt hollow.
The stories were good, well-written, and sturdy; however, the narrators really started to blur into one. There wasn’t enough diversity or tone change between each. I enjoyed the pocket pussy story, “In Vietnam they had whores.” It made me laugh and hurt hollow.
cavigs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
destiny_rodriguez's review against another edition
1.0
I personally cant read stuff like this. DNF at 35%
toddlleopold's review against another edition
4.0
There are stories in "Redeployment" that reminded me of Tim O'Brien's work -- high praise from me, given that I consider "The Things They Carried" one of the great short stories, period.
Klay's protagonists are soldiers or Marines in Iraq -- some of them are veterans back in the U.S. -- and they're trying to make sense of the senseless: IEDs, military bureaucracy, the reasons for the war (in one story, Klay notes, the reasons don't really matter; Marines are trained to kill and the overarching purpose is something for others to figure out), the meaning of death.
There are times Klay overreaches. Some stories, though powerfully told, tend to meander, making their points inscrutable.
But when he's on -- as in the title story, "After Action Report," the "Catch-22" humorous "Money as a Weapons System" and "Prayer in the Furnace," the latter a tale told by a chaplain -- you can see why this book won the National Book Award and Klay has been singled out as a writer to watch.
I do wonder if Klay, a Marine veteran of the Iraq War, is presenting a vision of the war, and of warriors, that's almost too ... literary, somehow. I'm curious to find out what other Iraq veterans think of his work.
At the same time, the guy is one hell of a writer. I can't wait to see what he does next.
Klay's protagonists are soldiers or Marines in Iraq -- some of them are veterans back in the U.S. -- and they're trying to make sense of the senseless: IEDs, military bureaucracy, the reasons for the war (in one story, Klay notes, the reasons don't really matter; Marines are trained to kill and the overarching purpose is something for others to figure out), the meaning of death.
There are times Klay overreaches. Some stories, though powerfully told, tend to meander, making their points inscrutable.
But when he's on -- as in the title story, "After Action Report," the "Catch-22" humorous "Money as a Weapons System" and "Prayer in the Furnace," the latter a tale told by a chaplain -- you can see why this book won the National Book Award and Klay has been singled out as a writer to watch.
I do wonder if Klay, a Marine veteran of the Iraq War, is presenting a vision of the war, and of warriors, that's almost too ... literary, somehow. I'm curious to find out what other Iraq veterans think of his work.
At the same time, the guy is one hell of a writer. I can't wait to see what he does next.
lui_the_third's review against another edition
3.0
I really appreciate the more realistic approach to first hand accounts when it comes to war. And that's what we're presented here.
These are boots on the ground accounts of various soldiers during their deployment. You're offered a glimpse into some of the not-so-glamorous roles soldiers take on.
As much as I liked this book, and always looked forward to picking up where I left off, I can't say I anything truly stuck though as far as story telling. It's a good read but one that I quickly forgot about.
These are boots on the ground accounts of various soldiers during their deployment. You're offered a glimpse into some of the not-so-glamorous roles soldiers take on.
As much as I liked this book, and always looked forward to picking up where I left off, I can't say I anything truly stuck though as far as story telling. It's a good read but one that I quickly forgot about.
srbolton's review against another edition
4.0
Reflecting on my reread of Phil Klay’s redeployment this month, I would love to see “money as a weapons system” written for a feature-length, MASH-style satire. Psyops and “sucking chest wound” are the most earnest & plausible post-war conversations. I remain unswayed by the criticism of his overdone caricatures of soldiers attitudes and speech in many of the stories; that’s kind of a tradition in war/antiwar fiction. A good read for those interested in the genre, but fair warning remains, this is not for the easily offended or faint of heart.
rebeccanotbecky's review against another edition
5.0
A spectacular read. I think it was even better than the Yellow Birds.
paladintodd's review against another edition
4.0
Good collection of short stories, some of them haunting, but not quite to the level of The Things They Carried. He wrote about a lot of different aspects - home, young, old, solider, artillery, etc - which seemed a bit excessive, almost as if he wanted to chronicle all of it.