Can’t get enough of Phil Klay’s Redeployment? Immerse yourself in his world and discover hidden treasures with this Sidekick.
Warning: This is an independent companion to Redeployment, meant to enhance your experience of the novel. If you have not yet bought Phil Klay’s novel, make sure to purchase it before buying this unofficial Sidekick.
In Redeployment, Phil Klay dives deep into the world of U.S. Marines: behind the headlines, the glory, and the inspiring recruitment ads, and into day-to-day life in the midst of war. Each story follows a different soldier as they face struggles both internal and external, on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan and back at home.
Redeployment has won numerous accolades and awards, including the 2014 National Book Award. Dexter Filkins of the New York Times calls Klay’s novel “The best thing written so far on what the war did to people’s souls.”
With this Sidekick, you’ll:
• Spend some more time with the characters you’ve come to know and love
• Learn what you might have missed on your first read of Klay’s novel
• Uncover some of the novel’s hidden gems and underlying themes
• Explore possible alternate endings and imagine ideas for a prequel
• Get a chance to discuss Redeployment with other savvy readers on our Goodreads forum
Sidekicks are entertaining and insightful reading companions, filled with delightful commentary and thought-provoking questions. Readers have raved that they "really put you in touch with the many layers of the novel," "keep you entertained even longer," and are "perfect if you want a vivid understanding of the story." Designed to be read side by side with the novels they complement, they’ll give you even more reasons to love some of today’s best books.
Andy Gooding-Call is a freelance writer and public librarian (not necessarily in that order) living in Massachusetts. He has written for Book Riot, ForeWord Reviews, In Kind Life, Etekly, and a bunch of places you've never heard of.
I was mesmerized by the stories that Klay included. Each story relates to the experience of service in Iraq. It is all there, harsh, vivid and written in a level of honest dialogue that just makes you feel and experience each event yourself. These service personnel easily entered into my "friendship" list because they were so real to me. It is not a pro or anti-war book, moreso, it is just the human experience.
I was given the chance to read Redeployment by Phil Klay -- Sidekick to the Novel by Anna Call in exchange for an honest review. First, as noted in the beginning of the book, this is not a standalone book. It is meant t be read along with the reading of Redeployment. The first couple sections of the book are meant to be read along with the book, while the final sections and Final Analysis is meant to be read after Redeployment.
Redeployment is a book of short stories. Anna continues this thread as she divides the Chapter Analysis by the stories. She gives a thoughtful review of each of the stories and includes questions and links for further study with a few. I like the use of the video link making the reader think further about what they are reading in Redeployment as they are using the Sidekick. I was further pleased by the Character Analysis section. Rather than pick one or two characters, Anna has chosen to include several, this enhances the book. The final sections of the book leave me with several things to ponder. A deeper look into the Truth Behind the Fiction, the Backstory, Possible Story-lines for a Sequel/Prequel left me thinking about what I really know about what soldiers face when they leave the war. The battles are far from over.
I do think this Sidekick would be a good addition to reading with and follow reading Redeployment. I give this book five stars. As usual, Anna has written a wonderful read along book.
Not my normal cup of tea but I picked it up to read as it has been short listed for the Warwick Prize for Writing. The cover and blurb suggest this is going to be a succession of tales of suffering infantrymen but it has a far richer cast of protagonists with Chaplains, civil servants, pysc-ops, and body clearers also taking centre stage.
For me there are two absolute stand out stories in collection. “Money as a Weapons System” which is a tale about reconstruction attempts that is the closet the collection gets to comedy and provides gives an opportunity for almost every faction and function in the conflict to be held up to ridicule. I particularly loved the relatively briefly appearing but long suffering interpreter. “Prayer in the Furnace” by contrast is a tale of the anguished attempts by a military Chaplain to do and say the right thing. The collection is worth reading for those two stories alone.