January 2015

 

The first writer I’m going to introduce in this series , Phil Klay, was a debut author in 2014 releasing Redeployment, a book of short stories, in March. Phil Klay is a graduate of Dartmouth College and a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He served in Iraq’s Anbar Province from January 2007 to February 2008 as a Public Affairs Officer.  (www.philklay.com/bio/)

This work is not normally what I would pick up, but after watching a HBO miniseries on Operation Iraqi Freedom, the subject of war was just what I wanted to read.

Redeployment takes the readers on a journey into the lives of servicemen through the complexities of war and the readjustment to civilian life. Each narrative takes the reader to a different part and function of the war, but each scenario exposes camaraderie, helplessness, and the will to survive among the troops. These stories will touch you and made me question what I thought and think about current and past conflicts. Thank you Phil Klay for such a moving and thought-provoking debut novel. I look forward to your future works.

Redeployment was the National Book award winner for fiction in 2014.

For more information on Phil Klay or National Book awards visit www.philklay.com or http://www.nationalbook.org/

 

–Betsy