Exiles

by Philip Caputo

With Exiles, his first collection of shorter fiction, the author of the universally acclaimed, best-selling memoir A Rumor of War ("It will make the strongest among us weep",  wrote John Gregory Dunne) sends the reader on a tripartite adventure.

First to suburban Connecticut, where a young blue-collar man on the way to his mother's funeral falls in with an upper-crust couple who lavish attention on him and pull him into unexpected dilemmas.

Then to Australia's Torres Strait, where a charismatic but troublesome stranger washes ashore into the thick of a struggle for a tiny island's very identity.

Then to Vietnam--vintage Caputo territory--where a squad of misfits plunge deep into the jungle in search of the body of their mess sergeant, who has been carried off by a tiger.

No matter the backdrop, Philip Caputo's ear for the vernacular is unerring, while his interrogation of human nature--of the deceptions we inflict on ourselves and others--is unflinching. Exiles affirms the remarkable range, the freedom from genre, of a writer whose "meditations on the love and hate of war  were hailed by William Styron as "among the most eloquent I have read in modern literature.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction

353 pages, Hardcover

First published May 20, 1997

About the author

American author and journalist. Author of 18 books, including the upcoming MEMORY AND DESIRE (Sept. 2023). Best known for A Rumor of War, a best-selling memoir of his experiences during the Vietnam War. Website: PhilipCaputo.com

Reviews

[Carol Storm · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would love to give this book more stars, since I know more than one Marine who was inspired to join the Corps after reading Caputo's legendary Vietnam memoir A RUMOR OF WAR.

Unfortunately, as a writer Philip Caputo is a great platoon leader. I'm only talking about the first story in this collection, STANDING IN. Because I really couldn't read the rest. Caputo talks in cliches, thinks in cliches, and has nothing to say about money, class, sex, and death that a hundred other writers haven't said before.

STANDING IN is tough to read because it oozes weird sexual hangups and it's steeped in tiresome blue collar posturing. The young man's mother dies and there's like a three page description of how horrified he is at having to kiss her heavily made up corpse in the funeral home. What exactly are we supposed to take away from this?

Then he meets the upper class WASP couple, and of course they're rotten to the core. Big news! But our hero stands firm, resists all temptations, and is last seen fishing with an old coot who reminds him of his dad. This is Caputo's idea of great writing.

I kid you not!!!

[Bank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three short novels . The first two are easily forgettable . The third , titled The Forest of the Laughing Elephant , was superb . Heart of darkness come to vietnam .

[Bob Peru · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 novellas.
2 good.
1 great.

[Greynomad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three separate stories; the last one ahhhhhhhhh another attempt at trying to formulate a sorry story line

[Rithwik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts strong and tense, but the subsequent stories lack a unifying thread

[S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads goodreads goodreads, you disappoint me.

You call yourselves the champions of freedom and free speech and when one of your favourite GR reviewers is sent off to gaol...

... NOT ONE SINGLE BOOK FROM YOU GUYS

GUYS C'MON

GUYS, I'M DISAPPOINTED.






I spent 114 days in gaol for stroking a pair of 38DDs and paradoxically, I can now think of nothing else.

38DD

oh god

oh god

losing my mind. total mush

anyway this book sucks. I'm sorry I took it as one of two paperbacks I was allowed to slip with me into gaol, as it seems to consist of nothing but sort of Apocalypse Redux discount knockoff, that Australian movie about evolving sexual identities, and finally a little pygmalion riff. in other words, for a NOVEL, there is seemingly no NOVELty in the work. so, I'm sorry, but I have to recommend against this book, although apparently Caputo 's RUMOUR OF WAR is famous. and actually I penned a 10000 word review of this book whilst in the clink, but I'll probably just publish that independently or something. cuz I'm updating, Community! hang your heads in shame

[Conrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is interesting to see what other reviewers have said about this book. Some have called it cliched while others have complained of the somewhat abrupt endings in the first two stories. Personally, I found them to be well-written and entertaining. Caputo has an ear for the vernacular and uses that skill well in crafting his tales. Rather than seeing the end of the first story as an abrupt ending, I see it more as an ambiguous ending that leaves the reader guessing as to the direction the main character will take - and I find that quite satisfying. The stories (as the title suggests) are about displaced people and how they react to circumstances when they are subjected to pressure. It is an interesting study of human nature and I think he explores the subject well. One thing I noticed throughout the stories is his fascination with light - he enjoys describing light filtering through objects such as blinds or shutters or from the windows of the railroad car at night. As a story-teller, Caputo captures the imagination and draws the reader in to the dilemma of the characters and, after all, isn't that what we want from a good story - to experience it vicariously through the characters?

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the last story in this compilation of short stories in college and decided to go back and read the entire book. I really enjoyed the short stories. Each was an interesting snapshot into a person's life centering around what made them an exile of some sort. Things were not always as they seemed. Each story ended rather abruptly which was annoying but necessary. I have several other Caputo novels that I may check out now because of having read this one.

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the last one "In The Forest of the Laughing Elephant" in this trio of small novels. It's one of the best stories about Vietnam I've ever read. Right up there with Philip Caputo's memoir "Rumours of War". Terrific writing.

[Peter Carlisle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book consists of 3 novellas, all of which are well written and fairly fun to read. Overall I enjoyed it a lot, though I found the endings of the first two a bit abrupt and unsatisfying.

[Carianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpectedly thought provoking without hitting you over the head with a moral.

[Jessica]

Read the first two stories and then lost interest.

[Dan Piette]

Still making errors of geography (Monkeys hanging by their tails in Vietnam, not being familiar with the stars in

[Tami]

I read and thoroughly enjoyed the first story, about the people from CT. Dante "becoming" Clay.

But now I am moving on

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed most of his other books, but found this one to be not as good. The enjoyed the third novella the most, which got the book up to three stars.

[Smb · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third story in this especially. It’s haunting.

[Delores Alger · Rating 1 out of 5]

3 shorts - didn't finish any

[Patrick McGuire · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first story was okay. The second story was incomprehensible to me.