All the Ruined Men: Stories

by Bill Glose

For readers of Phil Klay, Kevin Powers, and Tim O' Dramatic, powerful, authentic short stories of soldiers fighting a "forever war," in combat and back home, and the 2023 winner of the Library of Virginia Award for Fiction.Combat takes a different toll on each soldier; so does coming home. All the Ruined Men by Bill Glose comprises linked stories that show veterans struggling for normalcy as they grapple with flashbacks, injuries (both physical and psychological), damaged relationships, loss of faith, and loss of memory. Beginning in 2003, All the Ruined Men spans ten years, from the confident beginning of America’s “forever war” to the confusion and disillusionment that followed.As a former paratrooper and Gulf War veteran, author Bill Glose is closely bound to these stories. Drawing from his own experiences and military knowledge, Glose presents a cast of complex and sympathetic young men who embraced what seemed like a war of just cause, who trained and fought and lived and died together, and who have returned to families, wives, children, civilian life, and an America that has lost its way.Unforgettable, moving, filled with moments of anguish, doubt, love, hope, and other emotions, All the Ruined Men is a singular debut collection.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, War, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Military Fiction

277 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 2, 2022

Reviews

[Donna Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a few short stories get a harsh look at a few soldiers war experiences which give a better understanding of the crazy thoughts exploding in their heads.#ALLTHERUINEDMEN

[Terry Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing, intriguing book. I normally do not read this genre, but I am so glad that I did. The way that the stories are woven together yet can be read on their own is just one of its strong points. Glose uses enough detail that you know he was there, in Iraq, but does not use so much gore that I would have even considered putting the book down. Rather, he ramps up the tension and the foreshadowing until you want to claw through the page and stop the inevitable. He creates breathing, feeling characters who tear out your heart, sometimes through their own blunders and others simply by fate. He leaves you thinking about the characters, and the real-life scenarios and origins from which they sprang, long afterward.
I highly recommend this skillfully constructed book.

[Stacy McRae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was surprisingly well-written. Yes, it is about soldiers, but it is also eloquent while seemingly realistic. It may trigger those who have had traumatic experiences, but it was an interesting read.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

"So little to kill a man. Just a pause between breaths. And five pounds of pressure."

Bill Glose is a poet. Seriously. He's published multiple books of poems. All the Ruined Men is his first collection of short stories, and I hope it's not his last. Like poetry, his stories cut to the bone. They're descriptive, balanced, and brief. In fact, several of the stories in this collection were first conceived as narrative poems.

Glose, himself an Army combat veteran, brings to life multiple characters from a single squad. Whether career military or now civilian, they - by design - represent a cross-section of working-class America.

There's incredible impact in Gose's writing, every story worthy of its inclusion. The one that hit me like a sledgehammer to the chest was only three pages: "Falling Backwards." Its primary character is introduced early in the book, and we watch him grow from highschool honors student, to a tried and trusted brother-in-arms, to traumatic brain injury patient, and to homeless veteran who buries his trashcan discoveries in foxholes across Atlanta.

Truly devastating, but a memorable and worthy collection worth reading and re-reading.

5 out of 5

[Derek Kannemeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a fan of short story collections that double as novels. Every piece has to work independently, yet the separate parts must also interlock to tell a larger, cumulative story. This is a wonderful example of the genre: Glose, a sharp observer and a superb writer, pulls off the trick beautifully. While a friendly fire disaster for which most of the core characters are present has ramifications that echo throughout the book, each soldier's subsequent story, as the years pass for them (or fail to) is his own. If Glose makes us work to figure out one character from another—their wartime names are surnames; for their private lives Glose uses their given names—there's a thematic point to that. These men have to work to rediscover themselves! But as we move through these 18 stories, each of its ruined men comes into sharp individual focus, and we see the similarities and the differences behind the stoic mask. Their ways of coping or not coping; the weight of the toll they continue to pay, and that their loved ones pay; the persistence of their bond; the fragility inside their strength.

[Roger DeBlanck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense and well-written with observant details, Glose’s interwoven stories capture lightning-like glimpses into the mental weight soldiers carry from the throes of war to back home as they re-acclimate to civilian life. Although these stories evoke tremendous empathy and compassion, the characters are sometimes indistinguishable, which might be Glose’s intention. What they experience and endure is impactful, but their individuality blurs from one story to another.

[Linda Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so much more aware of Army soldier’s issues after they return from combat in this book about soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. In most cases, I wish the short stories had been longer with more details. I did not want them to end. Many of the stories took a part of my heart. Having worked as a civilian for the Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard, I had never considered Army missions and soldiers from a soldier’s perspective. This book of short stories opened my eyes to what happens to them in combat.

Book club selection

[Gary Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depressing but gripping

Should be required reading for "W" and his advisors who sent American troops off on a fools' mission to find "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq. Unfortunately there is no cure for stupidity, but it's always others who suffer most from politicians' mistakes. The politicians themselves retire and take up painting.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is sooooo good; highly recommend if you’re someone who has veterans as loved ones or work with people who are. this book is so poetic and sad. i loved how the storylines were interwoven and the the author’s note was beautiful to me.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is linked stories about combat veterans who fought in Iran and Afghanistan and came home to a world they were not ready for. Bill Glose is a great writer, and the truth he presents is worth the heartbreak that the readers face. I gained a new appreciation for their experiences.
The only thing that would have made this better for me was if there had been an annotated list of characters; I had trouble keeping them straight.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

I'm not a military man myself, and I don't really come from a military background. I say that I don't really, because technically, my dad was in the Navy, but he was in and out before I was even born, and the only effect his military service had on me (that I can directly identify, anyway) is that he routinely fed us corned beef hash (from a can, of course) as children.

That being said, I have worked with a ton of veterans over the years, and I have seen the effect that military service, especially active duty in a combat zone, can have on a person. All of that emotion and trauma is captured perfectly in these stories. I found every single story to be compelling and engaging, and the narration was masterful as well. Definitely would recommend!

[Xinyan Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

i didn't know much about the gulf wars before going into this book and i think it really opened my eyes to how exploitative the military recruitment system of fresh high school graduates is. they offer you free college tuition, but at what cost? and even if you don't see war, the psychological damage that comes from the conditioning to prepare you for war is still there. it's also given me a new perspective on the challenges that veterans face—a wonderful, necessary read.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is normally not the kind of book I would read, but it was excellent! The writing really brought you in to the world of these men. The only thing I found a bit confusing was switching between the use of first and last names. I couldn't always figure out who was who!

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tough and compassionate look at soldiers returning from the combat zone and moving back into their families and lives that might not seem the way they did before. The 18 stories are linked, all of them about 6 paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne Division. They range from one man contemplating revenge to another coping with facial disfigurement to a death by IED. The writing is elegant, the approach sympathetic. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Highly recommend.

[Dawn West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me cry, made me laugh a little, and made me think a lot. Helluva book.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spiritual successor to Tim OBrien’s ‘The Things They Carried’, All The Ruined Men takes a heart wrenching look at the forever wars, from 9/11 forward. Much like TTTC, this isn’t about the war and battles as much as it is about the human toll that war brings. Soldiers returning home broken, struggling to get through the hour, let alone the day.

Glose writes in a dizzying narrative fashion, trapping the reader in the constant churn of the veterans mind. A really great read with a lot to say.

[Peg - The History Shelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read my review at BookBrowse here: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interwoven stories of about 8 guys who all served in the same unit in Afghanistan. The stories refer back to what happened in Afghanistan, but focuses on the adjust to life after the military. Very well told, accurate, and sobering.

[Kiley Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the Ruined Men is a collection of aftermath narratives centered on veterans grappling with the never-ending task of re-entering the civilian world. With brutal honesty and unflinching empathy, Glose explores how trauma and memory can haunt and permeate everyday life, from playing poker to hosting an Oscar party and raising a rebellious teenage daughter. Blunt, vivid, intimate, and heartbreaking, this collection traces the long-lasting, far-reaching devastation of war and examines the challenges of even the best outcome: returning home.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly well written. My only complaint is that there weren’t any stories of women who have served in combat—I think that would have painted the full picture of what it was like to serve in combat. While I understand women were not allowed officially in combat troops until later in the war, the have been in combat zones and on missions from the beginning.

Other than that, this was a thought provoking and honest look at veterans coming home.

[joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

-The gist: Short, linked stories about American war veterans trying to find normalcy again. The toll of combat and the experience of coming home is highly variable and emotionally explosive for every man; no two stories are alike. While PTSD isn’t explicitly mentioned, the theme of memories keeps these men in ‘forever war’ mode. Every day is filled with flashbacks, sensory triggers, and sustained injuries all whilst trying to rebuild relationships, find new jobs and find meaning in life again.

- Impressions: Gritty, bleak, heart-wrenching. I’m not going to pretend that this is a tale of hope and happy endings because it’s not; war is truly good for “absolutely nothing”. It’s also a subtle commentary around war and male identity.

- Trigger warnings: Heavy drinking, PTSD, fractured relationships, graphic descriptions of combat

Read with me: Instagram | Website

[Brian Driver · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't judge this book as if I were a soldier who served in the war ... I didn't. But the driving force that I have when it comes to reading such books is really simple: my era was Vietnam, and that horror could have been mine. My father fought in WWII, and carried his severe wounds to his death many decades later. I've always considered myself lucky not to have fought, and I know these terrible times could have been something I experienced, too. Even in the Vietnam era I always honored soldiers for their commitment, knowing how costly their service can be.

ALL THE RUINED MEN does just what it implies it will: it gives examples of service, and shows the effects of that service. And it's not pretty: it shows the depression, the psychic wounds, the anger, and their inability to shed psychological scars. ATRM displays how much this can cost. (A NOTE: it does not examine women who served.)

While ATRM starts with time in the Gulf War and has scenes in which they train, fight, and suffer, this book doesn’t spend a huge portion of time in the desert. Instead, it shows soldiers back home: at work, at home, living aimlessly, suffering, having flashbacks, and so on. This is NOT a warm, fuzzy novel: as the title tells us, it displays how much these men are indeed ruined, and how difficult it is to break it down or talk about it, even with their fellow soldiers.

ATRM chops chapters into separate sections, often focusing on different soldiers’ recollections of war, or of their interactions with others who were stateside: marriage partners, children, co-workers … often miserable and unable to find solace.

Read this book if you are hurting, or know others who are hurting, or simply want to – like me – better understand what veterans are going through. It's a grueling book, and I almost stopped reading it, but I’m glad I saw it through.

[What is not said, but NEEDS to be, is that the U.S. has been at war for most of the years I’ve been alive. We MUST get better at taking care of those who are involved in these wars. If we are to be the world’s police force, we must police ourselves and regard our soldiers’ minds to be at least as valuable as their bodies.]

[Bob Schmitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was playing poker in the casino in Danville VA and the big gruff guy sitting on my left was carrying on a conversation with a young guy two to my right about words. I asked the big guy what he did and he told me he was a writer. I asked what he wrote and he said many books poems and articles. I was playing poker in the casino in Danville VA and the big, gruff guy sitting on my left was carrying on a conversation with a young guy two to my right about words. I asked the big guy what he did and he told me he was a writer. I asked what he wrote and he said many books, poems and articles. I looked this book up which seemed to be his most popular.

It is about a squad of soldiers in Iraq who came back to the US and the problems they had with work, relationships, PTSD etc.

The author was an Airforce brat who then serve in Iraq at a paratrooper.

New words to me:
Surplice - a long robe
Ramekin - a small individual baking dish
Cat eyes - small reflective patches sewn on the back of an Army Ranger’s helmet cap to help them follow one another.

[Donna Schelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book interesting and heartbreaking at its core. I don’t doubt that these experiences are real and relevant. Some stories were better than others, but that is to be expected. I kept hoping at some point there would be mention of a woman who was in combat. (Yes there were women in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.)

The presenting of women “as less than” throughout was pretty disappointing. The waitress who was so available, accusing Sofia of being a princess because she wanted Mueller to come through on his promises, the mother who complained about the brutality, the lady at the poker table who flirted and then dismissed, Faust’s wife wanting to have an Oscar party being presented as shallow. Every woman was presented as pathetic or shallow. It was unnecessary and more a reflection of the author, I hope, than those we thank for their sacrifice. I can’t imagine the adjustment soldiers experience coming home and I wish each one peace.

[Carley Huber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely an emotional/heavy book, so I took some breaks reading this one. I loved reading all of the different stories and paths that each soldier took…the way that the wars impacted each soldier differently. The most gut wrenching stories for me were Bradshaw (especially with the passage of his sister) and Mueller (particularly with his infidelity and navigating parenthood). My favorite quote from the whole book had to be “maybe the ultimate wound is the one that makes you miss the war you got it in”.

[Mary Batten · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of stories about the damage war inflicts on soldiers. In each of these stories a soldier returning home grapples with nightmares of battle that have scarred his heart and soul. Writing from his personal military experience, Bill Glose presents heartbreaking stories of men struggling with PTSD, men who have, in some cases, suffered irreparable wounds both psychological and physical. Life will never be the same again for any of them. A powerful anti-war book, beautifully written.

[BookBrowse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sure to rank with the likes of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, Glose's All the Ruined Men is a riveting collection of superbly crafted stories, stripped down like a field weapon, capable of cutting and gutting with the blunt reality of war's ugly wake.
-Peggy Kurkowski


Read the full review at: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/review...

[Joann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glose has done a fine job of capturing the appeal of being in the military while at the same time demonstrating the futility of combat. There is a great deal of angst and fury in these stories; many caused me to hold my breath. There is a lot of pain contained in this book but it is well worth reading.

[Jen Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is The Things They Carried for the modern wars that have been fought over the past decades. The mindset and traumas as they translate into life back home are profoundly real and, frankly, unsettling at times. Everyone should read this. It builds the empathy muscle and has you walking a mile in combat boots.

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written novel. It tells a story of several men who were in the same squad in Afghanistan. It tells about how some died there and then the others who came home and their problems there. It shows the problems America has in its multiple extended deployments in her "forever wars."

I really enjoyed it. It has sad parts, funny parts and everyday parts to make you think.