There’s been a kind of interesting trend in the short story world in these past few years to center narratives around veterans and soldiers who fought in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. These Heroic, Happy Dead counts itself in that number. It’s comparable to Redeployment, the Phil Klay novel that I loved, but writer Luke Mogelson takes a less elegiac approach and often the stories will leave you feeling more hurt than happy. I think what kept me from truly embracing the book is that though the characters were interesting, not all of them were engaging and the connections to their service not always clear. This is illuminated by the “Peacetime” story where we meet a sick guy, but are kept on the surface rather than getting any insight. My favorite story in the book was “Sea Bass” which really felt like it connected from a place of character and overarching theme.
Disclosure: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review.