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Surrender
In the tradition of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, Brian O'Hare's Surrender is a rich collection of coming-of-age stories, a journey into the heart of the American hero myth, from the Friday night football fields of Western Pennsylvania to a battalion of Marines in the Persian Gulf and beyond. But what happens when the crowds stop cheering and the welcome home parades are over? Guilt, fear, and brutality collide with love and acceptance as a diverse cast of characters struggle to reconcile mythology with reality, and to find meaning in a uniquely American chaos.
In bittersweet stories with surprising humor, the characters grapple with the choices they've made and a country they no longer understand. Written in spare and unsentimental prose, yet with a startling emotional punch, these stories, and the unforgettable characters who tell them, will live long in the reader's imagination.
In bittersweet stories with surprising humor, the characters grapple with the choices they've made and a country they no longer understand. Written in spare and unsentimental prose, yet with a startling emotional punch, these stories, and the unforgettable characters who tell them, will live long in the reader's imagination.
- GenresShort Stories
161 pages, Hardcover
Published November 1, 2022
6 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Brian O'Hare
1 book4 followersBrian O’Hare is a graduate of the US Naval Academy, former Marine officer and Gulf War
veteran. His career began in a Baltimore bar, where legendary director John Waters cast him as a convict for his film Cry Baby. Currently, he’s an award-winning writer/filmmaker. National Book Award winner Phil Klay awarded Brian Syracuse University Press' Veterans Writing Award for Surrender—his book of short stories published in November 2022 by Syracuse University Press. He’s served as Visiting Writer at CUNY/Kingsborough (Brooklyn) and writing resident at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Amherst, VA. He’s taught workshops and read at bookstores—Los Angeles’ Book Soup, Seattle’s Elliott Bay Books, Miami’s Books and Books, and schools such as the University of Buffalo, Quinnipiac University, Syracuse University and the US Naval Academy. Along with literary icons Tobias Wolff, Tim O’Brien and Richard Bausch, Surrender was read as part of WORDTheater LA's event commemorating the 50th anniversary of end of the Vietnam war. His film 'Rizoo', about an 8yo girl deciding whether to wear the hijab for a class picture, was released in January by 'The New Yorker'. He's editing his novel 'A Gathering of Vultures'.
veteran. His career began in a Baltimore bar, where legendary director John Waters cast him as a convict for his film Cry Baby. Currently, he’s an award-winning writer/filmmaker. National Book Award winner Phil Klay awarded Brian Syracuse University Press' Veterans Writing Award for Surrender—his book of short stories published in November 2022 by Syracuse University Press. He’s served as Visiting Writer at CUNY/Kingsborough (Brooklyn) and writing resident at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Amherst, VA. He’s taught workshops and read at bookstores—Los Angeles’ Book Soup, Seattle’s Elliott Bay Books, Miami’s Books and Books, and schools such as the University of Buffalo, Quinnipiac University, Syracuse University and the US Naval Academy. Along with literary icons Tobias Wolff, Tim O’Brien and Richard Bausch, Surrender was read as part of WORDTheater LA's event commemorating the 50th anniversary of end of the Vietnam war. His film 'Rizoo', about an 8yo girl deciding whether to wear the hijab for a class picture, was released in January by 'The New Yorker'. He's editing his novel 'A Gathering of Vultures'.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 25, 2022
Stories of war that crackle like lightning and burn like the neverending aftermath of war. There's a certain delicious cynicism at work here (as it should be in any book about war). Highly recommended!
March 30, 2025
An unlikely title for a Marine themed set of 17 stories. I share much with the author: grew up on East Coast, majored in history and graduated from Annapolis, served in Marines, and participated in Desert Storm. But I'm not a creator or storyteller. These stories are heartfelt and cut to the bone. They remind me of Siobhan Fallon's You Know When the Men Are Gone- 2011. Fallon is the spouse of an Army officer. Both she and O'Hare have walked the talk and translated their experiences into intimate, real retellings about fate, destiny, and the vicissitudes of life.
January 12, 2023
A really good read, I liked the book’s structure as a non-chronological series of vignettes, of which my favorites were “The Trigger Pullers,” “Surrender,” and “The Man behind the Curtain.” O’Hare is very insightful about all aspects of being a Marine, not just what goes on during wartime.
November 18, 2022
Intensely moving, funny—really unlike any military-related short story collection I've ever read. This is a page-turner. I couldn't put it down. Every story is unique but there are several recurring characters. I'm sure one might be able to trace something autobiographical here—but why bother? O'Hare knows his job as a short story writer is to use actual experience only as a springboard. He also knows how to steal stories from others, seamlessly putting himself in their shoes. That's quite a skill.
Most short story writers mining actual experience get stuck in deposition-mode. Not Brian O'Hare. He wields artistic license freely, embellishing, entertaining—teaching the reader what they need to know. It's a masterful performance that feels true and real. I wept reading some of these stories but he never, NOT ONCE, veers into bathos or cheap sentimentality. I also laughed out loud. He is serious about sentence-making, some of the passages could pass for soaring poetry. Such astute, wise observations, he's clearly a scholar of the form. What a voice. Can't wait for his next book.
Most short story writers mining actual experience get stuck in deposition-mode. Not Brian O'Hare. He wields artistic license freely, embellishing, entertaining—teaching the reader what they need to know. It's a masterful performance that feels true and real. I wept reading some of these stories but he never, NOT ONCE, veers into bathos or cheap sentimentality. I also laughed out loud. He is serious about sentence-making, some of the passages could pass for soaring poetry. Such astute, wise observations, he's clearly a scholar of the form. What a voice. Can't wait for his next book.
March 28, 2023
Loved it. An excellent book that shows the human condition through the eyes of a Marine veteran.
September 26, 2025
Brian O’Hare’s linked story collection, SURRENDER, won the 2021 Veterans Writing Award (Syracuse University Press), and it is obvious why. These 17 stories are visceral and muscular and tender at the same time.
O’Hare, a writer and filmmaker who is both a graduate of the US Naval Academy and a former combat Marine officer (https://brianohare.com), has spoken movingly about his love for his fellow Marines, and those bonds reverberate throughout.
Most of O’Hare’s characters are men in worlds of men—other Marines, athletes, coaches, fathers, sons. He does a magnificent job in bringing the reader into these masculine realms. The rigid, prescribed roles and countenances are so precisely drawn—they, especially the older men, are both chiseled by and encased in them. However, O’Hare also subtly weaves women characters into the narratives, like emissaries from another world (for example in “The Mail Thief” and the title story, “Surrender.”).
Several characters surface across stories and time periods—“Mad Mike” and Coach Auger for example—but O’Hare most artfully unspools the reoccurring character of Lt. Francis Keane. Keane’s backstory, in many ways, echoes O’Hare’s own life story, and the reader comes to view Keane as the author’s alter ego. Drawn with tremendous dexterity and grace, the narrative arc of Francis Keane indeed exemplifies the brawny, irreverent, and often humorous intimacy and empathy of this brilliant collection.
A fantastic collection by a deeply skilled and insightful author.
O’Hare, a writer and filmmaker who is both a graduate of the US Naval Academy and a former combat Marine officer (https://brianohare.com), has spoken movingly about his love for his fellow Marines, and those bonds reverberate throughout.
Most of O’Hare’s characters are men in worlds of men—other Marines, athletes, coaches, fathers, sons. He does a magnificent job in bringing the reader into these masculine realms. The rigid, prescribed roles and countenances are so precisely drawn—they, especially the older men, are both chiseled by and encased in them. However, O’Hare also subtly weaves women characters into the narratives, like emissaries from another world (for example in “The Mail Thief” and the title story, “Surrender.”).
Several characters surface across stories and time periods—“Mad Mike” and Coach Auger for example—but O’Hare most artfully unspools the reoccurring character of Lt. Francis Keane. Keane’s backstory, in many ways, echoes O’Hare’s own life story, and the reader comes to view Keane as the author’s alter ego. Drawn with tremendous dexterity and grace, the narrative arc of Francis Keane indeed exemplifies the brawny, irreverent, and often humorous intimacy and empathy of this brilliant collection.
A fantastic collection by a deeply skilled and insightful author.
March 17, 2024
Honestly, I bought this book because my friend wrote it. He’s a Marine, and my father was a Marine in World War II. Brian said some great things about my dad (who died when I was 15), so I didn’t get to ask him a lot of stuff about the war. He said that my dad was in one of the toughest battles: Iwo Jima.
I thought this book was going to be a lot of war stories. And there are some, but what I found was wholly different. I found stories that were similar to what I had gone through – experiences that I had encountered: life experiences, friend experiences, work experiences, earthquake experiences, punk experiences – stuff that’s in my DNA. It’s the book I reach for when I can’t sleep at night – it’s easy to hold and small. I get enveloped in the story, and I think about my past and my present. I think about his friend Francis, his mom, and the resilience Brian O’Hare embodies. Sometimes it pisses me off how many things he has done while I sit in my bed and can’t sleep. Inevitably, I do fall asleep, and I wake up in the morning thinking about the stories in this book. It’s a book that should be in everyone’s house – close by, specifically if you need to be transported.
I thought this book was going to be a lot of war stories. And there are some, but what I found was wholly different. I found stories that were similar to what I had gone through – experiences that I had encountered: life experiences, friend experiences, work experiences, earthquake experiences, punk experiences – stuff that’s in my DNA. It’s the book I reach for when I can’t sleep at night – it’s easy to hold and small. I get enveloped in the story, and I think about my past and my present. I think about his friend Francis, his mom, and the resilience Brian O’Hare embodies. Sometimes it pisses me off how many things he has done while I sit in my bed and can’t sleep. Inevitably, I do fall asleep, and I wake up in the morning thinking about the stories in this book. It’s a book that should be in everyone’s house – close by, specifically if you need to be transported.
December 3, 2025
Thank Veterans? Heck, yeah. Here’s why: Brian O’Hare’s revelatory collection of outstanding short-stories –all delivered with erratic pulse – left this reader grappling for an appropriate response. Wink? Wave? Wince? Salute??? Marine Veteran Brian O’Hare’s belly of the beast, boots on the ground, real deal perspective is magnificently fragmented. It demands that the reader not settle for just one complex pair of opposing truths to co-exist in the mind – but offers a dozen such contradictions to wrestle with at each installment. Surrender is at once both funny and furious - appalling and appealing - beastly and brilliant. Perhaps the best thing to do – when reading O’Hare – or when meeting a Veteran - is to stand silent and applaud quietly. Author! Author! Take a bow, Brian O’Hare.
Peter Daniel Cook - Author of Bootleg Heroes
Peter Daniel Cook - Author of Bootleg Heroes
November 6, 2022
I don't write too many reviews. Who's got time? But this book is just too good. Brian O’Hare has written one of the best things I've ever read. This isn’t hyperbole. His storytelling chops have been sharpened to a fine point that is both poignant & hilarious. They will cut deep into your soul while making you laugh the whole time. The book pretends to be a collection of masculine “war” stories but cuts down the patriarchy with a precise, devastating sneak attack that only a former Marine and Naval Academy graduate could accomplish. O’Hare’s efficient use of prose feels like Hemingway but even more American and genuine somehow. "Surrender" is disarming and all you can do is, well, surrender to its genius.
October 5, 2025
A superb story collection. Brian O’Hare’s stories will make you laugh out loud, hold your breath with suspense, and cry with empathy for his endearing characters. The men and boys in these stories are the flawed heroes and the well-meaning bumblers and brawlers we see every day. Their struggles—on the high school football field, in small suburban towns, and in the theater of war—feel urgent, vital, and real. One of the many pleasures of reading this insightful, moving collection is meeting up with characters when they reappear in other stories. With sharp, energetic, and funny prose, O’Hare vividly renders the challenges and the costs of living up to traditional masculinity ideals. I enthusiastically recommend this book!
March 1, 2025
Go read this collection of short stories from the hugely talented Brian O’Hare. His grasp of narrative flow and control is scintillating in this series of short stories. Highly worth the time to read.
November 22, 2022
Incredible storytelling. An eye-opening peak into scenes from the life of a marine. Sarcastic, funny, and at times heartbreaking. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Francis and his dad.
November 26, 2022
A poignant collection of short stories that cover the myths and realities of military service - before, during and after. "Thank you for your service...sucker!"
February 13, 2023
This is an absolutely phenomenal collection of stories and a must-read for anyone interested in war literature.
January 22, 2024
Outstanding -- the way men work with each other (or don't) is a micro masterpiece -- Jar Head meets Chekhov! Also the beautiful description of the desert parallel with the futility of the organizations that wage war are well welded. He didn't even need to show two vast and trunkless legs of stone to give the feeling of Ozymandias's shadow
Also, the DEVO love is not surprising, if welcome, considering the author looks like a leaner and somewhat meaner Mark Mothersbaugh at the height of his notoriety
Also, the DEVO love is not surprising, if welcome, considering the author looks like a leaner and somewhat meaner Mark Mothersbaugh at the height of his notoriety
September 2, 2024
This collection of short stories center around Marines serving in the 1990 Gulf War, and many of their lives before and after that event. There are common themes of the toxic masculinity of the time, racism, classism, and generational conflicts. Wonderful writing and story telling.
September 9, 2024
Super impressed with this debut collection, which is alternately harrowing, chaotic, funny, and tender. Brian O'Hare is a natural storyteller—highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews