“Freedom is not the same as lack of accountability.”

 

 

The Yellow Birds is a great novel about a soldier returned from the Iraq war and trying to re-adjust to civilian life. There are plenty of stories about soldiers coming home but this one being written in novel form by a veteran gives it an easy readability to makes for the compelling story line and hardly any tedious specific military type lingo and strategy.

The story is not about the war itself in military context it is about the brotherhood and companionship that comes from looking another soldier in the eye, having the silent understanding pass between you two that you will both die for one another if the opportunity should arise.

The Yellow Birds centers on private Murph, 18 and Private Bartel, 21. Through the course of their tour in Iraq they become unwavering partners and points of clarity for one another. Under moments of battle, stress, calm, and quiet they are there for one another in an almost sibling like relationship. One day mortars start to fall and confusion ensues. After the fight is, both are still alive, but something has died. An irreversible mental shift has happened for Murph and Bartel doesn’t know how to break back into Murph’s confidence. Their fellow soldiers start to notice Murph acting strange and then one day he is nowhere to be found. With the unit out on patrol for him, Bartel and Lt. Sterling comes across a discovery and subsequently make a decision that will forever change several lives.

This book is relatively short and reads quickly. It is emotional in the raw sense that is it is not forced nor does it necessarily ask you to feel emotional. It is a soldier’s story told in the very framework that he lives it. Not being a huge fan of military fiction or non-fiction I found this to be a very readable, relate able, and emotional account of one minuscule subset of the Afghan wars. It doesn’t get lost in obscure military lingo or war strategy, it’s about two men, who become brothers, who ultimately in the 10 months they serve in Iraq together change the course of each other’s lives forever.

3.5 out of 5.

Put it on the high end of your list.