Fire and Forget: Short Stories from the Long War, ed. by Roy Scranton and Matt Gallagher

Fire and Forget: Short Stories from the Long War is an anthology of short stories about life at war and after, mostly set in Iraq and Afghanistan or back in the U.S., written by veterans and at least one military wife.

I didn't take notes on the stories in this one, unfortunately, so I'll just flip through the book and tell you a little about a few I remember enjoying.

"Tips for a Smooth Transition" by Siobhan Fallon - Excerpts from a guide on how to deal with a returning soldier are inserted within the story of Evie, whose husband is returning from Afghanistan. Thoughtful and sometimes chilling, "Tips for a Smooth Transition" sets you firmly in the shoes of a military wife whose spouse may have returned a different person. When he starts tossing and turning in his sleep, she jumps up and puts her hand on the doorknob in case he might have trouble distinguishing a nightmare from reality and become violent.

"Play the Game" by Colby Buzzell - An infantry soldier decides not to "re-up" but then he's at loose ends. He has no idea what kind of job to get and finds himself a room in a cheap hotel. He can't sleep and might be having hallucinations. When his car goes missing and he files a report with the police, he's convinced it was stolen. But, then he happens across his car and a memory returns to him. A story that makes you understand how isolating it can be for someone to leave the military and how difficult to figure out that next step in life. At one point, the protagonist gets a phone call and you're also left wondering if he's got some sort of medical issue that's the underlying reason he's self-medicating with alcohol.

"When Engaging Targets, Remember" by Gavin Ford Kovite - An infantryman in charge of a machine gun to protect a convoy traveling from Baghdad airport to a Forward Operating Base goes over the rules of engagement. When a car begins to rapidly approach the convoy, he must follow the rules to shout a verbal warning, display his weapon, shoot a warning shot, then a disabling shot, and finally shoot to eliminate the target, if necessary. But, how do you decide whether or not the vehicle is a genuine threat? What if the people in the car simply need to get by? This is the decision the protagonist is faced with.

"Roll Call" by David Abrams - After the memorial service for one of their friends, a group of soldiers stands around on the Forward Operating Base, remembering the many people they know who have fallen. The sheer quantity of people listed and the horrible ways some of them died (they don't go into detail about every death) will make your toes curl.

Two of the authors are people I've read before (links to reviews of their books):

You Know When the Men Are Gone by Siobhan Fallon
Brave Deeds by David Abrams

Interestingly, both of those books happen to be books that I've thought about a lot, since reading them. I passed on my copy of You Know When the Men Are Gone and then almost immediately regretted it. I ended up getting an electronic copy, but I may just eventually buy a new copy of the book since I'm terrible about reading e-books. Brave Deeds has stuck with me in the same way. I can remember some of the scenes that moved me the most and the incredibly moving ending of Brave Deeds. Both had a powerful impact on me.

Highly recommended - A difficult read that gives the reader a variety of perspectives of military service and its challenges, especially the transition from war zone to civilian life. I had particular favorites but Fire and Forget is an unusual collection in that I didn't actively dislike any of the stories. A couple of them are actually humorous, which gives it a nice balance because most hit you pretty hard with a good dose of painful reality. As I flipped through Fire and Forget, just now, I found myself getting sucked into every single story and wanting to read it all over again. A solid collection of stories that I will definitely save for rereading.


©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Brave Deeds by David Abrams

Everything was going fine. Smooth as a baby's shaved ass. Park at the wheel, Arrow riding shotgun, the rest of us crammed in the back: O sitting on Fish's lap, Cheever digging into his second bag of Doritos for the day, Drew sandwiched somewhere in the middle. Early morning locals in fluttering robes swished past the Humvee's small windows. Burnt shells of cars lined the curb, lingering memories of bombs. Billboards with soccer players saying things we couldn't understand, but offering us a Coke and a smile. Everything good and fine and then bang! It's like the Humvee decided it had had enough. Sorry, guys, I'm calling it quits. You're on your own from here. 

~from p. 3 of ARC, Brave Deeds: Some changes may have been made to the final print version

Man . . . this just keeps happening. Three fabulous books in a row and every single time I'm frozen, thinking, "I'm not worthy to write about this." Let me just say the usual . . . I'll do my best.

Brave Deeds is set during the Iraq War and tells the story of six men whose Sergeant has been killed in an explosion. When they find out his memorial service is being held at a different Forward Operating Base than the one where they're stationed and that they're not allowed to attend, they steal a Humvee and set off for FOB Saro in defiance of their orders. Barely into their journey, the Humvee breaks down. They're in Baghdad, a dangerous place for American soldiers, so they quickly exit the vehicle. And, then -- too late -- they realize they've left behind both the radio and their maps. Brave Deeds is the story of their journey across Baghdad to honor the fallen hero they've come to admire and respect.

Much like the most recent addition to my all-time favorite war books list, A Walk in the Sun by Harry Brown, Brave Deeds is a compact gem that takes place in a short span of time (less than a day) during which you slowly become acquainted with a band of protagonists who are taking a long, uncertain walk, through both their current actions and flashbacks. In spite of the short time span that's covered, a lot happens. The 6 men are in a dangerous city, surrounded by potential hazards that include the heat, hunger, uncertainty about the correct direction in which to head, pain, fatigue, and frequent errors in judgment. Without a map to guide them or a radio to call for help, will they remember their training and find both their destination and the cunning to survive? If they make it to FOB Saro, will they arrive in time to attend the memorial service?

Highly recommended but not for the faint of heart - Brave Deeds is gritty and raw with the ring of truth, that "you were there," sensation that makes a story hit you right in the gut. I don't mind the violence and gore, the crude language (it's worth mentioning that Brave Deeds contains the two words I currently consider the most vile modern obscenities), the talk about sex and bodily functions, all because they're authentic. When people are in the worst possible situation, their thoughts go to the basics -- hunger, thirst, desire, love, hate, and the singular goal to reach their objective. Most importantly, though, the ending quite simply took my breath away. A deeply meaningful book about modern-day heroes, for better or worse, doing what they feel is right in order to show respect to one of their own. Brave Deeds is a 5-star, tightly-written, deeply meaningful story that will stick with me for a long time.

~~~~~

Oops! I just accidentally posted and then reverted to draft form because I completely forgot to mention that this will be my last post till sometime in September. As always, I plan to shut down Facebook and reduce my internet time to next to nothing, but I'll occasionally check my email. I can't say whether or not I'll manage to step away from Twitter, since I've recently become a Twitter addict. It's likely I'll mention what I'm reading, there. At any rate, I'll be back to blogging in roughly 5-6 weeks.

You've probably already seen this photo if you follow me elsewhere, but Izzy very helpfully posed with Brave Deeds while I was reading it and I'm crazy about this photo so I figure it's worth adding for posterity. Happy summer, everyone!

©2017 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.