Let me first begin by saying that Holter Graham is now one of my favorite Audible narrators. His performance of his book was absolutely fantastic, and you may be truly missing out on an experience if you read the print edition of this book rather than listen to the audio book.

I do not want to say too much about this book and, usually, I do not write long reviews about works of fiction because I do not want to spoil it for any other readers. So, what can you expect from this book in a nutshell? First, Kevin Powers is an Iraq War veteran who served in Tal Afar from 2004-2005 and hailed from the suburbs of Richmond, VA. The book portrays a fictional version of himself in "Private Bartle" who was also from Richmond and served in Tal Afar from 2004 to 2005. The book is narrated from the first person perspective when Bartle, for reasons I will leave undisclosed, is living alone in a cabin in civilian life. Chapters transition between civilian life (usually postwar civ. life) in Richmond and his recollections of skirmishes and missions in Tal Afar.

The crux of the story centers around the relationship between Private Bartle and Private Murphy who attended basic training together and, by order of Sergeant Sterling, become battle buddies during the conflict.

Readers will find many of the pervasive themes of Iraq 2003 literature: soldiers confronting the meaninglessness of the conflict; veterans struggling with the physiological and psychological repercussions of PTSD; the veteran's take on "Thank You For Your Service" and the emotional response the prompts in men; the nature of friendship and brotherhood in combat; and, perhaps most important, how soldiers navigate feelings of guilt and regret (and the pursuit of some form of absolution) in the postwar.

Powers imitates the form and style of Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, and there are many parallels between the two stories both in organization, theme, the trauma of combat, and the difficulty of reintegrating into civilian society.

I highly, highly recommend this book for anyone interested in reading war fiction (esp. in the vein of Remarque or O'Brien).