Katey Schultz
Autor/a de Flashes of War: Short Stories
3+ obres 17 Membres 4 Ressenyes
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Still Come Home de Katey Schultz
Katey Schultz's debut novel STILL COME HOME is a remarkable book, impressive in its breadth and depth of story, engaging with its finely-drawn characters, and breathtaking in its pace. I know of few authors writing about war these days who can so skillfully balance both sides of the conflict with equal grace. Katey Schultz gives true heart and dignity to both the so-called ‘enemy’ and the ‘friendly’ forces of the American troops. I read an early copy of the novel and even now, more than a year later, STILL COME HOME continues to make me think long and deep about how we humans all too often lose sight of our humanity during war. The characters in these pages remind us how complicated and anguishing decisions can be on both sides of the battle-lines.… (més)
Marcat
davidabrams | Hi ha 1 ressenya més | Nov 8, 2019 | I was lucky enough to get an early look at Katey Schultz's first book, FLASHES OF WAR, more than six years ago, and was simply blown away by it, astounded at how this young woman with no military experience or connections could write so realistically of war and its participants in such an authentic voice. That little book has quietly and steadily gained followers and fans. And now she has produced this book, STILL COME HOME, an equally authentic novel of the war in Afghanistan, which, eighteen years on, continues to mark time, trudging towards infinity.
In the intervening years between the two books, Schultz has continued to study these "forever wars" through reading, research and forging friendships with veterans of the wars. And it has paid off. Because STILL COME HOME is a gripping and absorbing story of war, and, like the first book, it gives us not just the American viewpoint, but also the Afghan side. In fact, this new book takes its principal characters from two of the stories in FLASHES OF WAR. Nathan Miller, a lieutenant from a North Carolina National Guard unit, was first introduced in "The Quiet Kind," along with his wife, Tenley, and their small daughter. And the Afghan couple whose story unfolds here were first seen in "Aaseya & Rahim."
Miller, presented much more fully here, as squad leader of the "Spartans," is a man filled with guilt over the death of one of his men during a previous deployment in the Korengal region. This time around he is determined to bring his team home intact, but first they must complete one final mission, to the remote village of Imar, which is the home of Aaseya and Rahim.
Schultz uses a shifting storyline most effectively, giving us alternating chapters, first from the American side, then the Afghan. Miller's story is fleshed out by flashbacks of his Indiana upbringing, his courtship and marriage to Tenley, and their life together in a small town in North Carolina. Emphasis is placed not only on the very real and present danger of his current deployment, but also on the strains and tensions this has placed on their marriage. Nathan wants desperately to be a good father and husband, but finds himself torn by the pull of war -
"The way it feels like family. How do you tell your wife that you love the very thing that took you away from her? That you kill in order to lie next to her again? You don't tell her. And even if you did, you'd have to get to her first. You'd have to make it home."
And later, when he does get back home -
"... he still struggled with the parts of himself he hates ... that these are sometimes the parts he misses the most - combat; that dopamine-crazed siblinghood where every move matters ... Everyday life pales in comparison to the constant presence of death."
The story of Aaseya and Rahim is equally compelling. Aaseya, orphaned at fourteen by the war, is forced to marry Rahim (twenty-three years older), who himself was sold as a child, trained as a "dancing boy," sexually abused by wealthy merchants, and discarded. Their marriage is, to say the least, troubled - and childless, a further blot in their small, close-knit community. But then a feral, orphaned boy enters their orbit, offering a possibility of family.
The way these parallel stories, parallel lives, intersect and build inevitably to a violent and tragic climax - well, no spoilers from me, youll just have to read the book.
In an epilogue to FLASHES OF WAR, Schultz tried to explain why she wrote about war, admitting how ignorant she'd been of the current war - her own generation's war.
"Right or wrong, 'their' side or 'ours,' I wanted to know, on the level of basic human experience, what were these wars actually like? How did people operate under extreme conditions with less-than-ideal tools for survival? ... What were the impacts of war inside the family home or in the far reaches of an individual's mind?"
Well, with STILL COME HOME Schultz continues to try to answer those questions, this time in a longer form, but still employing all the finely honed skills she learned writing flash fiction. Taut, moving, explosive, gut-wrenching - this is simply one helluva read. Once again, bravo, Ms Schultz! My very highest recommendation.
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (més)
In the intervening years between the two books, Schultz has continued to study these "forever wars" through reading, research and forging friendships with veterans of the wars. And it has paid off. Because STILL COME HOME is a gripping and absorbing story of war, and, like the first book, it gives us not just the American viewpoint, but also the Afghan side. In fact, this new book takes its principal characters from two of the stories in FLASHES OF WAR. Nathan Miller, a lieutenant from a North Carolina National Guard unit, was first introduced in "The Quiet Kind," along with his wife, Tenley, and their small daughter. And the Afghan couple whose story unfolds here were first seen in "Aaseya & Rahim."
Miller, presented much more fully here, as squad leader of the "Spartans," is a man filled with guilt over the death of one of his men during a previous deployment in the Korengal region. This time around he is determined to bring his team home intact, but first they must complete one final mission, to the remote village of Imar, which is the home of Aaseya and Rahim.
Schultz uses a shifting storyline most effectively, giving us alternating chapters, first from the American side, then the Afghan. Miller's story is fleshed out by flashbacks of his Indiana upbringing, his courtship and marriage to Tenley, and their life together in a small town in North Carolina. Emphasis is placed not only on the very real and present danger of his current deployment, but also on the strains and tensions this has placed on their marriage. Nathan wants desperately to be a good father and husband, but finds himself torn by the pull of war -
"The way it feels like family. How do you tell your wife that you love the very thing that took you away from her? That you kill in order to lie next to her again? You don't tell her. And even if you did, you'd have to get to her first. You'd have to make it home."
And later, when he does get back home -
"... he still struggled with the parts of himself he hates ... that these are sometimes the parts he misses the most - combat; that dopamine-crazed siblinghood where every move matters ... Everyday life pales in comparison to the constant presence of death."
The story of Aaseya and Rahim is equally compelling. Aaseya, orphaned at fourteen by the war, is forced to marry Rahim (twenty-three years older), who himself was sold as a child, trained as a "dancing boy," sexually abused by wealthy merchants, and discarded. Their marriage is, to say the least, troubled - and childless, a further blot in their small, close-knit community. But then a feral, orphaned boy enters their orbit, offering a possibility of family.
The way these parallel stories, parallel lives, intersect and build inevitably to a violent and tragic climax - well, no spoilers from me, youll just have to read the book.
In an epilogue to FLASHES OF WAR, Schultz tried to explain why she wrote about war, admitting how ignorant she'd been of the current war - her own generation's war.
"Right or wrong, 'their' side or 'ours,' I wanted to know, on the level of basic human experience, what were these wars actually like? How did people operate under extreme conditions with less-than-ideal tools for survival? ... What were the impacts of war inside the family home or in the far reaches of an individual's mind?"
Well, with STILL COME HOME Schultz continues to try to answer those questions, this time in a longer form, but still employing all the finely honed skills she learned writing flash fiction. Taut, moving, explosive, gut-wrenching - this is simply one helluva read. Once again, bravo, Ms Schultz! My very highest recommendation.
- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (més)
Marcat
TimBazzett | Hi ha 1 ressenya més | Sep 22, 2019 | This slender collection of short stories and 'flash' fiction packs a punch; I sat down on a Sunday morning with a little bit of dread, I admit, nervous about how grim the stories would be and how the author -- who has no military experience -- would handle the topic. Despite my wildly liberal political leanings, I'm from a military family and the US military is a complicated animal for me. I wasn't interested in a wholly patriotic wash nor aggressive criticisms. I was surprised to find I'd finished this book just as my wife came in for her first cup of coffee -- and that I really liked it. (My experience isn't dissimilar to that of Vestal Review, and we both had the same thoughts upon finishing.)
Comprised of thirty-one short stories and flash fiction (shorts in 150 words), the stories share the points of view of active duty US soldiers, families in Iraq and Afghanistan affected by the conflict, military spouses and loved ones, the damaged and the healing.
While the opening piece felt a little too clever for me -- a soldier in Afghanistan is bitter about Americans watching Hollywood action flicks at the mall -- the rest of the collection wasn't self-conscious or smugly ironic. Sad, a little crude, bittersweet, frightening, and at moments, even happy, these stories run a range of emotions rather beautifully.
Schultz's writing is clear and to the point, no wasted words or flighty, aloof sentiments. While Schultz isn't graphic in articulating the violence these soldiers and survivors see, it's apparent, tempered with resilience and the grim determination to survive.
Some of my favorite pieces include 'The Quiet Kind', about a husband and father's 'quiet' PTSD and the frigid barriers between him and those at home; 'Deuce Out', in which the younger teenaged sister of a man serving in Afghanistan decides to emulate her beloved older brother; 'KIA', the sparse and heartbreaking outline of a man killed in action; 'Checkpoint', about the devastating impact of misunderstanding cultural gestures; and 'Aaseya & Rahim', about an Afghan couple in an arranged marriage who find themselves in love with each other as they both work hard to survive.
A surprising but satisfying collection, those who are interested in stories of the military and those impacted by war will likely enjoy these pieces. Schultz is another writer now on my 'to watch for' list.… (més)
Comprised of thirty-one short stories and flash fiction (shorts in 150 words), the stories share the points of view of active duty US soldiers, families in Iraq and Afghanistan affected by the conflict, military spouses and loved ones, the damaged and the healing.
While the opening piece felt a little too clever for me -- a soldier in Afghanistan is bitter about Americans watching Hollywood action flicks at the mall -- the rest of the collection wasn't self-conscious or smugly ironic. Sad, a little crude, bittersweet, frightening, and at moments, even happy, these stories run a range of emotions rather beautifully.
Schultz's writing is clear and to the point, no wasted words or flighty, aloof sentiments. While Schultz isn't graphic in articulating the violence these soldiers and survivors see, it's apparent, tempered with resilience and the grim determination to survive.
Some of my favorite pieces include 'The Quiet Kind', about a husband and father's 'quiet' PTSD and the frigid barriers between him and those at home; 'Deuce Out', in which the younger teenaged sister of a man serving in Afghanistan decides to emulate her beloved older brother; 'KIA', the sparse and heartbreaking outline of a man killed in action; 'Checkpoint', about the devastating impact of misunderstanding cultural gestures; and 'Aaseya & Rahim', about an Afghan couple in an arranged marriage who find themselves in love with each other as they both work hard to survive.
A surprising but satisfying collection, those who are interested in stories of the military and those impacted by war will likely enjoy these pieces. Schultz is another writer now on my 'to watch for' list.… (més)
Marcat
unabridgedchick | Hi ha 1 ressenya més | May 27, 2013 | In FLASHES OF WAR, her first book, Katey Schultz , barely bending the boundaries of the exacting subgenre of "flash fiction," gives us honed-to-the-bone, gut-wrenching glimpses into the lives of soldiers and civilians irreparably damaged and torn apart by the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
My unrefined reaction to these largely ultra-short stories written by a young woman with no personal experience of combat or war was a wondering and respectful "Holy crap!" How in the hell did she DO this? How did she get herself so completely inside the heads of these soldiers, using such indisputably genuine GI language and thoughts? And even more amazingly, how did she pull off the same hat trick when it came to the other side? Because yes, there are stories here which are about civilians caught in the middle of these seemingly never-ending horrors. There is the Afghan mother trying to understand the collateral death of her small son in "My Son Wanted a Notebook." And in "First Commander," there is the small but savvy Iraqi boy scrambling for scraps in the dust of the Americans who "look so tall and wide that just being next to them feels like resting in the shadow of a cloud." And the voice of a father trying to protect his family in war-torn Fallujah ("Refugee"),
There are non-combatant casualties from our side too, like Lillis, the grieving single mom in "Getting Perspective" who finally begins to accept her loss -
"But I can tell you my husband died in Iraq and I'll say it out loud: one, because it's true, two, because he wouldn't want me keeping quiet about something that important, and three, because it sounds like the start of whatever happens next."
In "The Waiting: Part II" home front military spouses arrange their lives to support each other, "Like making sure at 6 o'clock we're on the phone, so we don't turn on the television and listen to more of that bad-news-IED-no-further-details kind of talk." This moving one-page piece evoked echoes of Siobhan Fallon's fine, interlinked story collection, YOU KNOW WHEN THE MEN ARE GONE, as well as the underrated TV series, "Army Wives."
But the best stories here, I thought, were those told from the perspective of the soldiers. It's difficult to pick standout pieces, because they are all excellent. I was especially moved by a few though. "WIA" stands out, as a seriously wounded soldier on a medevac transport plane fears he will die - until the nurses came, who "darted like swallows from cot to cot, a silent gentle army whose only mission was to keep us alive."
And there is Becca, a Walter Reed patient who has lost an arm, yet banters with a friend who has lost both legs and jokes, "I'll trade ya injuries." ("Amputee") Or Stephanie, who can't wait to follow her older brother into the service and also ends up muitilated and crippled, her grieving parents at her bedside asking, "What happened? What happened? What happened?" ("Deuce Out")
In "The Quiet Kind," the longest of these thirty-one stories, Nathan, trained in close-quarters killing, struggles to reconnect with his wife and small daughter, tortured by nightmares of what he has done, knowing that his "is the quiet kind of PTSD."
FLASHES OF WAR is simply an outstanding piece of work. I tried to think of comparable books, and, oddly, one that sprang first to mind is a collection of great stories recently published by fifteen veterans of these wars called FIRE AND FORGET. Another is the critically acclaimed novel by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya, THE WATCH. The truth is though, this "flash fiction" treatment of the wars of our time is totally unique. A brilliant debut and a marvelous achievement of research and imagination. Highly recommened. Bravo, Katey Schultz!… (més)
My unrefined reaction to these largely ultra-short stories written by a young woman with no personal experience of combat or war was a wondering and respectful "Holy crap!" How in the hell did she DO this? How did she get herself so completely inside the heads of these soldiers, using such indisputably genuine GI language and thoughts? And even more amazingly, how did she pull off the same hat trick when it came to the other side? Because yes, there are stories here which are about civilians caught in the middle of these seemingly never-ending horrors. There is the Afghan mother trying to understand the collateral death of her small son in "My Son Wanted a Notebook." And in "First Commander," there is the small but savvy Iraqi boy scrambling for scraps in the dust of the Americans who "look so tall and wide that just being next to them feels like resting in the shadow of a cloud." And the voice of a father trying to protect his family in war-torn Fallujah ("Refugee"),
There are non-combatant casualties from our side too, like Lillis, the grieving single mom in "Getting Perspective" who finally begins to accept her loss -
"But I can tell you my husband died in Iraq and I'll say it out loud: one, because it's true, two, because he wouldn't want me keeping quiet about something that important, and three, because it sounds like the start of whatever happens next."
In "The Waiting: Part II" home front military spouses arrange their lives to support each other, "Like making sure at 6 o'clock we're on the phone, so we don't turn on the television and listen to more of that bad-news-IED-no-further-details kind of talk." This moving one-page piece evoked echoes of Siobhan Fallon's fine, interlinked story collection, YOU KNOW WHEN THE MEN ARE GONE, as well as the underrated TV series, "Army Wives."
But the best stories here, I thought, were those told from the perspective of the soldiers. It's difficult to pick standout pieces, because they are all excellent. I was especially moved by a few though. "WIA" stands out, as a seriously wounded soldier on a medevac transport plane fears he will die - until the nurses came, who "darted like swallows from cot to cot, a silent gentle army whose only mission was to keep us alive."
And there is Becca, a Walter Reed patient who has lost an arm, yet banters with a friend who has lost both legs and jokes, "I'll trade ya injuries." ("Amputee") Or Stephanie, who can't wait to follow her older brother into the service and also ends up muitilated and crippled, her grieving parents at her bedside asking, "What happened? What happened? What happened?" ("Deuce Out")
In "The Quiet Kind," the longest of these thirty-one stories, Nathan, trained in close-quarters killing, struggles to reconnect with his wife and small daughter, tortured by nightmares of what he has done, knowing that his "is the quiet kind of PTSD."
FLASHES OF WAR is simply an outstanding piece of work. I tried to think of comparable books, and, oddly, one that sprang first to mind is a collection of great stories recently published by fifteen veterans of these wars called FIRE AND FORGET. Another is the critically acclaimed novel by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya, THE WATCH. The truth is though, this "flash fiction" treatment of the wars of our time is totally unique. A brilliant debut and a marvelous achievement of research and imagination. Highly recommened. Bravo, Katey Schultz!… (més)
Marcat
TimBazzett | Hi ha 1 ressenya més | May 8, 2013 | Premis
Potser també t'agrada
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