Posts tagged

"War "

March 21, 2013

Samurai at War with Destiny: David Kirk’s Child of Vengeance

Set in seventeenth-century Japan, David Kirk's book tells the story of Bennosuke, son of a premier warrior, in line to become a great samurai, who, after a shocking event occurs, must confront his destiny.

March 13, 2013

War, Made in America: Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, by Ben Fountain

Eight American war heroes are on the last stop of a Victory Tour at a Dallas Cowboys game. From here, Ben Fountain gives us a brilliant, satirical, and incisive portrait of contemporary America.

December 14, 2012

Kevin Powers’ The Yellow Birds: A Literary Tale of the Iraq War

This novel written by an Iraq War veteran tells a powerful story about two friends deployed in Iraq, and the damage, guilt, and battles endured, until a secret threatens one of the friend's small sense of peace he thought he had found.

September 25, 2012

One Marine’s Story of Going Beyond the Call of Duty: Dakota Meyer’s Into the Fire

This personal account of an astounding, controversial battle in the Afghan War takes no prisoners. Dakota Meyer shows us the intensity of combat and an unusual bravery, resulting in an unforgettable story of American heroism.

September 14, 2012

Coming of Age in the Army of Israel: Shani Boianjiu’s The People of Forever Are Not Afraid

The transporting nature of literature is one of many reasons to read -- and one of the many reasons to pick up Shani Boianjiu's debut novel.

July 21, 2012

On the Influence of Antigone: A Q&A With Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya, Author of The Watch

The author of a gripping Afghanistan-set novel shares his thoughts on the draw of Antigone, taking sides, and empathy.

July 10, 2012

The Long Walk: Brian Castner’s Battle at War — and at Home

Can life ever return to normal after war? Brian Castner explores this idea as he reveals his visceral experiences in Iraq and during his homecoming in The Long Walk.

June 8, 2012

The Irresistible Call of Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises

What is it about Hemingway's classic tale of dispirited expats that keeps readers coming back to it time and time again?

May 7, 2012

A Story of Salvation For Our Time in Stephen Dau’s The Book of Jonas

Stephen Dau's The Book of Jonas is a disturbing gospel for our time. It has simultaneously nothing and everything to do with religion; it can be read quite literally or allegorically, and it asks us to consider what it means to be saved. It's also very much a novel about war, and guilt, and remembrance. It's big.

April 9, 2012

A Civil War Volume Unlike Any Other: Jeff Shaara and Michael Shaara’s 3 Novels

On the anniversary of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's surrender during the U.S. Civil War, consider the best-selling fictional recount of the events.