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Redeployment: National Book Award Winner Kindle Edition

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 4,807 ratings

Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction

"
Redeployment is hilarious, biting, whipsawing and sad. It’s the best thing written so far on what the war did to people’s souls.” —Dexter Filkins, The New York Times Book Review

Selected as one of the best books of the year by
The New York Times Book Review, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post Book World, Amazon, and more

Phil Klay's
Redeployment takes readers to the frontlines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, asking us to understand what happened there, and what happened to the soldiers who returned.  Interwoven with themes of brutality and faith, guilt and fear, helplessness and survival, the characters in these stories struggle to make meaning out of chaos.

In "Redeployment", a soldier who has had to shoot dogs because they were eating human corpses must learn what it is like to return to domestic life in suburbia, surrounded by people "who have no idea where Fallujah is, where three members of your platoon died."  In "After Action Report", a Lance Corporal seeks expiation for a killing he didn't commit, in order that his best friend will be unburdened.  A Morturary Affairs Marine tells about his experiences collecting remains—of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers both.  A chaplain sees his understanding of Christianity, and his ability to provide solace through religion, tested by the actions of a ferocious Colonel.  And in the darkly comic "Money as a Weapons System", a young Foreign Service Officer is given the absurd task of helping Iraqis improve their lives by teaching them to play baseball.  These stories reveal the intricate combination of monotony, bureaucracy, comradeship and violence that make up a soldier's daily life at war, and the isolation, remorse, and despair that can accompany a soldier's homecoming.

Redeployment has become a classic in the tradition of war writing.  Across nations and continents, Klay sets in devastating relief the two worlds a soldier inhabits: one of extremes and one of loss.  Written with a hard-eyed realism and stunning emotional depth, this work marks Phil Klay as one of the most talented new voices of his generation.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Art of War

Is Phil Klay's debut short story collection the best book about the Iraq War? --Kevin Nguyen

“Success was a matter of perspective. In Iraq it had to be.” This opening line, from one of the stories in Phil Klay's impressive debut collection, Redeployment, encapsulates what the book does best: through the many viewpoints represented by his twelve stories, Klay gives us not just a gripping portrait of the Iraq War but a glimpse into the true human cost of war, abroad and at home.

Though the United States entered Afghanistan and Iraq over a decade ago, novels about those conflicts have only begun gaining critical and commercial attention in the past few years. Kevin Powers's The Yellow Birds, was one of the most talked about books of 2012; the same year, Ben Fountain's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. Both books were finalists for the National Book Award and included in our own Best of the Year list.

Powers and Fountain took very different approaches to the Iraq War. The Yellow Birds is a moving, often lyrical story that follows the tradition of in-the-trenches war fiction, taking hints from such classics as The Things They Carried all the way back to All Quiet on the Western Front (Powers is a veteran who received his MFA after returning to the U.S.); in contrast, Billy Lynn is more of a satire, taking place on home turf as the surviving members of Bravo Squad are paraded out during the halftime show of a Dallas Cowboys game.

Tonally and thematically, Redeployment falls somewhere in between these two novels. In its diversity of viewpoints, Klay has composed a complicated portrait of the war and its psychological effect on Iraq and at home in the States. Like Yellow Birds, these stories are moving and subtly philosophical; like Billy Lynn, Redeployment isn't afraid to be funny, to be brash.

Read the full review on Omnivoracious.

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of the Month, March 2014: I defy any readers of Phil Klay’s stunning Redeployment to a) put it down and b) limit the number of “wows” they utter while reading it. These twelve stories, are all about the Iraq War or its aftermath; they are so direct, so frank, they will impress readers who have read all they care to about the war as well as those who thought they couldn’t stand to read about it at all. The strength of Klay’s stories lies in his unflinching, un-PC point of view, even for the soldiers he so clearly identifies with and admires. For example, one veteran tells a guy in a bar about a particularly harrowing war experience. When the stranger, moved, declares his respect for our troops, the soldier responds, “I don’t want you to respect what I’ve been through. I want you to be disgusted.” Klay is fearless; he eviscerates platitude and knee-jerk politics every chance he gets. “[A fellow soldier] was the one guy in the squad who thought the country wouldn’t be better off if we just nuked it until the desert turned into a flat plane of grass,” he writes. These stories are at least partly autobiographical, and yet, for all their verisimilitude, they’re also shaped by an undefinable thing called art. Phil Klay is a writer to watch. --Sara Nelson

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00DMCW14G
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; 1st edition (March 4, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 4, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2161 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 305 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 4,807 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4,807 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the stories compelling and well-written. They describe the book as an amazing, powerful read that is worth their time. The evocative and thought-provoking stories resonate with readers. The insights and personal experiences are explored in an insightful way. The pacing is described as visceral and intense, with parts that make you cry and laugh.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

315 customers mention "Writing quality"235 positive80 negative

Customers appreciate the writing quality of the book. They find the narrators articulate and interesting to read, with a rational tone and tight control. The acronyms make the writing realistic, and the voice is spot-on. The characters are well-developed, worthy of literary awards, and accessible for civilian readers.

"...create characters in only a few pages, that you can sympathize for, understand, and believe in...." Read more

"...War must be near the top of that list. Certainly a good writer, whether or not he/she has been to war, can create for the reader some sense of the..." Read more

"...It is told as a series of short stories, written by different writers who saw different parts of the war and came back to tell their stories...." Read more

"...The result was a complete stop during the reading and a lack of understanding. One chapter was so full of them I couldn't follow it at all...." Read more

314 customers mention "Story quality"280 positive34 negative

Customers find the stories engaging and compelling. They appreciate the author's skill in developing fiction based on extensive research from literature. The stories are about combat scenarios and soldiers' experiences, immersing the reader in the plots. Readers mention the stories are heartfelt and interesting.

"...The stories are varied and many, but all hold true to a central theme, that of one's ability to find a way to find truth in the chaos, horror and..." Read more

"...All the stories are first-person, but they come from many different perspectives: a solider out on patrol, a soldier home after his first deployment..." Read more

"...It is told as a series of short stories, written by different writers who saw different parts of the war and came back to tell their stories...." Read more

"Interesting as each chapter is written from a different person's point of view, and from that standpoint was well done...." Read more

297 customers mention "Readability"277 positive20 negative

Customers find the book engaging and powerful. They describe it as an interesting, emotional read that is worth their time. Readers praise the author's debut as impressive and a collection worth attention.

"...of soldiers and civilians who spent time there, this is a collection worthy of attention." Read more

"...I quite enjoyed the read, as the son of a Marine,battlefield stories have always interested me...." Read more

"...a different person's point of view, and from that standpoint was well done...." Read more

"I found this to be a most interesting read. The format of each chapter varied significantly, depending on the author and focus of the story...." Read more

239 customers mention "Evocativeness"212 positive27 negative

Customers find the book insightful and thoughtful about war. They say it examines both the psychological and moral impact of the war. The emotional resonance in the stories resonates with readers. It communicates the emotion of deployment, capturing many different viewpoints from soldiers' lives. Readers also mention that the book is a powerful expose of military life and writes about heroism in battle along with the bizarre arbitrariness of recognition.

"...The value of it as a novel itself is rich and fulfilling, however it is hard to understand at some points...." Read more

"...But the immediacy of war—the adrenaline, the fear, the camaraderie, the sights, sounds, and smells, as well as the ambivalence of coming home—this..." Read more

"...This book is the story of this generation's war...." Read more

"...I enjoyed each one for all they offered. I found the writings to be filled with emotions, frustrations and, in too many instances, pure terror...." Read more

155 customers mention "Insight"148 positive7 negative

Customers find the book insightful and soulful. They appreciate the author's honest portrayal of their experiences and thoughts. The book explores the military failure in Iraq, providing an eye-opening exploration of the issues. Readers find the book nuanced and thought-provoking, capturing many different aspects of the war. While challenging to read at times, it sheds light on a world that has been hidden.

"...Every book about war I read shows me a deeper insight on this wider topic, but none have gotten me closer to the reality of what it might be like on..." Read more

"...Klay’s book is raw, visceral, complex. Some of the stories are emotionally quite intricate, though none of them are completely interior...." Read more

"...It does an excellent job of bringing humanity to the inhumanity of the battlefield and America's longest war..." Read more

"...Obviously a lot of research and personal experience has been included, but the constant use of acronyms made it extremely difficult to read...." Read more

93 customers mention "Pacing"85 positive8 negative

Customers find the book's pacing intense and gripping. They describe it as having the feel of actual lived experiences, with emotional and external action that puts them in the moment. The author draws readers into the minds and experiences of the protagonists, making the book relatable for those struggling with their time.

"...Klay’s book is raw, visceral, complex. Some of the stories are emotionally quite intricate, though none of them are completely interior...." Read more

"...It's gripping and beautifully written...." Read more

"...It is a well-written book that is at times gut-wrenching and at other times humorous, but never dull...." Read more

"...This is a gripping book that anyone who is struggling with their time in service - or to trying to relate to those who served - will truly find..." Read more

47 customers mention "Humor"47 positive0 negative

Customers find the book humorous and sad at times. They appreciate the author's sense of humor and irony, as well as the personal stories about life in war. The book is described as compelling, tender, and intriguing.

"...Sometimes bleak, sometimes funny, all the time raw, Klay has opened a window on the Iraq war in a unique, compelling way." Read more

"...NPR and he's intelligent, very well spoken, non-macho and has a good sense of humor and irony...." Read more

"...He can even make you laugh out loud in a story that reaches Catch-22 levels as he shows us the life of a community liaison officer dealing not only..." Read more

"...I could only read these stories slowly one at a time. They are so bleak, so brutal, so strong...." Read more

47 customers mention "Heartbreaking"24 positive23 negative

Customers have mixed views on the book. Some find it moving and powerful, with a brutal yet sensitive portrayal of the Iraq war. Others describe it as not emotional but an educational read that is disturbing and sad, with moments of light.

"...The book is hard to read, it leaves much to think about. This is a rough, tough, gruff way of writing...." Read more

"...and while they all made me uncomfortable in my own skin and broke my heart at the same time...it was Redeployment, which happens to be the title of..." Read more

"...But frankly, I believe that gave me an even better perspective on the hurt, the nihilism, and the hope that suffuses every single one of Mr. Klay's..." Read more

"...Many of the stories are hard to read because the emotion conveyed is so painful, but these are important stories and having read the book, I have a..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2015
    Redeployment is an unflinchingly real depiction of war. Phil Klay weaves together ten short stories, telling the struggle of soldiers in the battlefield or those trying to acclimatize to the stark contrast of civilian life. One details the raw, visceral hatred some of the soldiers held and targeted towards the Iraqis; another tells the story of a chaplain attempting to assist a soldier unable to reconcile some of the things he did. These vignettes are able to create characters in only a few pages, that you can sympathize for, understand, and believe in. Although this character might not have been real, it represents thousands of real soldiers going through the same psychological and emotional strife.

    The stories are varied and many, but all hold true to a central theme, that of one's ability to find a way to find truth in the chaos, horror and utter cruelty of war. Klay is skilled in his creation of a diverse range of perspectives, each contributing one part to a greater whole. Every story is immensely personal, detailing their decaying state of wellbeing as they take the war one step at a time, or the numbness that overtakes their lives as they return to what was once their home. It tears down the facade of war that makes it to be full of honor and glory, bringing to light what impact it has on not only the troops that risk their lives, but also the civilians of war-torn countries, deprived of necessities and forced into a life they did not chose.

    The value of it as a novel itself is rich and fulfilling, however it is hard to understand at some points. Frequent use of highly specific military jargon detracts from the overall meaning at some points, leaving me searching up what SITREP might mean rather than continuing on the story. However this is only a small qualm I have, overshadowed by it's many virtues.

    Every book about war I read shows me a deeper insight on this wider topic, but none have gotten me closer to the reality of what it might be like on such a human level. Don't be tricked by it's veneer of fiction, "Redeployment" is perhaps the closest we will ever get to understanding the experiences and pain of veterans.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2015
    There are probably some experiences that will always escape the imaginative powers of even the most skilled writer. War must be near the top of that list. Certainly a good writer, whether or not he/she has been to war, can create for the reader some sense of the experience, and definitely can recreate the ambience of a nation during wartime. But the immediacy of war—the adrenaline, the fear, the camaraderie, the sights, sounds, and smells, as well as the ambivalence of coming home—this can best be delivered by someone who has experienced it directly. If that person happens to be a talented writer, then you just might get a book of stories like the National Book Award-winning Redeployment.

    Phil Klay learned about war firsthand in Iraq as a Marine, and then honed his writing skills with an MFA degree from Hunter College. I don’t know exactly what being a Public Affairs Officer involves, but even assuming it didn’t put Klay on the front line of battle day in and day out, it did put him a lot closer than most of us will get, and this comes through in the emotional impact of his stories as much as in the plots themselves. Those of us who have not been there are distant observers, and we must be willing to trust those who were there to tell the truth—or at least their truth—about what it was like. This has nothing to do with the politics of a particular war, about which we are all entitled to our opinions, but only with the experience of those who respond to whatever it is they respond to that puts them there.

    All the stories are first-person, but they come from many different perspectives: a solider out on patrol, a soldier home after his first deployment, a chaplain, a civilian director of a reconstruction project, an Egyptian-American Coptic war veteran, and so on. Some of the stories are more emotionally complex than others, of course, and each one can do no more than offer the beginnings of insight into the innumerable ways in which war affects its participants.

    I thought of Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried as I read Klay’s book. Both books reminded me that, at least if these authors are to be believed, issues of ideology or grand strategy have little to do with what goes on in the midst of battle. What there is, unmistakably, is the soldier next to you, and the others you’re fighting with. And outside the field of battle, there is a whole range of issues to deal with, few of them geopolitical—another vast gulf in perceptions of war.

    Klay’s book is raw, visceral, complex. Some of the stories are emotionally quite intricate, though none of them are completely interior. Particularly given the enormity of the US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan in American consciousness, culture, and politics, and the number of soldiers and civilians who spent time there, this is a collection worthy of attention.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2015
    America and Americans have been at war for the past 100 years. That is 5 generations,give or take. Each generation has had it's own war. Each generation has told its own story. Each war has been different, a different place, a different style of warfare; but there are similarities as well. War takes it's toll on both the victims and the victors. This book is the story of this generation's war.
    It is told as a series of short stories, written by different writers who saw different parts of the war and came back to tell their stories. The text is peppered with salty language and military acronyms which lend a degree of reality to the book. It does an excellent job of bringing humanity to the inhumanity of the battlefield and America's longest war
    I quite enjoyed the read, as the son of a Marine,battlefield stories have always interested me. But on reflection, I have been thinking of the five generations who have experienced the horrors of war, when will one of them say "enough, war stops here!" Perhaps just a dream for my four year old grandson. Read this book

Top reviews from other countries

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  • ChiliPalmer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic, blunt, simply real...
    Reviewed in Canada on April 5, 2023
    I am only half way through the book and would already like to write a review. I bought this book to let it inspire me as a writer who's writing about the Marines during the war in Iraq. The short stories give a wonderful insight into the lives of the Marines during that time and the challenges they were facing. At times, I am laughing out loud because of the blunt honesty in how the characters speak, what they think, or, occasionally the odd things that happen to them along the way, which don't seem far fetched at all. I have never been in the military, so I need to look up a lot of the acronyms, which some people may find annoying who just want to read and not research, but I don't, because it teaches me what I need to know to write a more authentic story myself. Thank you, Phil Klay, for this phenomenal book from a female reader in Canada.
  • Arlindo Daibert Neto
    2.0 out of 5 stars Um drama de lugar-comum
    Reviewed in Brazil on November 6, 2017
    Por mais dramático que seja o tema de fundo, esse livro é uma sucessão de clichês. Cansativo e desinteressante. Creio que nem mesmo o mais aficcionado leitor com interesse militar encontrará aqui algo que o encante.
  • tamako
    5.0 out of 5 stars 戦争をする国アメリカ、海兵隊員の事情を知る
    Reviewed in Japan on September 18, 2017
    とにかく一気に読んだ。面白い。
    著者は元海兵隊員。イラク戦争を描いて全米図書賞を獲得した。
    これは単なる経験談ではない。優れた戦争文学である。

    本書は12編からなる短編集。すべて兵士が語る一人称小説である。
    fuck,shit,assholeが頻発され、見慣れぬ軍用略語にてこずる。
    しかしそれは兵士の言葉で、著者の好みの問題ではない。
    中には略語ばかりの4ページに満たない短編もある。
    これも単に奇をてらった実験的手法ではないことは、読み終わればわかる。

    著者は緻密な構成と計算づくの語彙で、若い兵士の戸惑いを巧みに描き、
    抑制のきいたカラッとした結末を生み出すことに成功している。

    決着のつかない世の矛盾を、暴力によって最終決着する場が戦場である、
    なんてことを著者は書かない。
    戦争は残酷だ、人間の尊厳を無にする、などとも書かない。
    この本には、抽象的な文言や戦争の常套句は一切ない。
    著者が描くのは、ただ兵士の身辺に起きた出来事である。

    例えば、兵士は犬を撃つ。犬が死体の血を飲むからだ。
    結婚指輪をはずして認識章と一緒にネックレスにぶらさげろと、兵士は命令される。
    死体からは、指輪が抜けなくなるからだ。
    爆弾が破裂し顔の半分を失くした兵士は、そのとき肉の焼ける匂いをかぐ。
    遺体処理兵が、遺体収容袋が破れて中の液体をかぶる。暑さで遺体が融けたのだ。
    パトロール中、自分が撃ったイラク兵に、思わず自分の救命具を差し出す兵士。
    これらは兵士の任務の一端だ。

    彼らは戦争反対を口にしない。志願して入った兵士であるから。
    しかし戦場の高揚感はすぐに恐怖に変わる。
    殺される恐怖と殺す恐怖。彼らは何とかそれを忘れる算段をするしかない。

    しかしこの小説の本当のテーマは、戦場の恐怖や矛盾を描くことではない。
    それはこの作品の目的の半分に過ぎない。
    なぜなら兵士の本当に厄介な問題は、アメリカ帰還後に始まるからである。

    海兵隊員の苦しみ?PTSD?
    今さらそんなこと言っても、自分の意思で海兵隊に入ったのだろう?
    私たちのそんな批判を著者は十分わきまえている。
    だからこそ著者は、兵士の思いを代弁してこの作品を書いたのである。
    「同情も勲章もいらない。ただ戦争の現実を知って欲しいのです」と。
  • Matt
    5.0 out of 5 stars Laconic Review: Redeployment
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 5, 2016
    Redeployment claims to be the real deal, and by and large, Phil Klay's collection of short stories manages to deliver. What sets it apart from many of its genre peers is its exploration of the lesser-known (or, at least: less commonly written about) aspects of the Long War: while the infantry is given its due part, Klay's cast of narrators is fairly diverse and includes, among others, a chaplain, a mortuary affairs specialist, and a civilian functionary of the United States Foreign Service. “Money as a Weapons System” in particular stand out in its refreshingly accurate depiction of the socio-political environment framing the efforts and lives of everybody who is involved with or exposed to the war effort.

    What's also notable is Klay's respect for his audience: he is upfront about his own, real-life experience having been one on the sidelines, the tone of his stories never becomes patronizing, and he neither lionizes nor deprecates the motivations and actions of his characters. Redeployment both contrasts and complements Evan Wright's Generation Kill (and its famous miniseries), and together, they offer a great opportunity to learn what it's actually like being boots on the ground in Iraq.
  • BABBLE
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in France on February 29, 2016
    Excellent, même s'il faut s'accrocher en anglais, car le langage des troufions américains là-bas sur le terrain de la guerre est franchement basique ce qui en dit long sur le recrutement de la chair à canon dont les plus jeunes peuvent avoir moins de 20 ans.
    Et puis tous ces acronymes posés ici et là dans le texte, comme des mines pour piéger le lecteur et le plonger direct dans un univers impersonnel où il n'y a plus d'humains mais des KIA (=Killed In Action/Mort au combat), des DI (=Drill Instructor/Sergent instructeur), des SOB (=Son Of a bitch), XO (= Executive Officer/Commandant en second), des PFC (=Private First Class/Caporal), des CO (=Commanding Officer/Commandant), . Les armes de mort s'appellent IED (=Explosif), des UXO (=Unexploded Ordnance/pièce d'artillerie). Même la bouffe n'a pas de nom: MRE (=Meat Ready to eat/Viande toute prête).
    Les mots de Phil Klay sont des armes puissantes.

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