Fear

Fear is a theme that emerges throughout the twelve short stories in “Redeployment” by Phil Klay. When Sergeant Price returns home, he is struck with fear when he walks down the mall in his hometown. But it’s not a fear in the present and now. He flashes back to Fallujah where he and his fellow Marines routinely scoured the rooftops looking for snipers. Fear struck him in his hometown setting that was similar to a street in Fallujah. He feared the snipers that were not there and feared how he could protect himself. His hands bore no weapons. He didn’t know what to do with his hands; he missed holding his rifle. He had lived in fear for his own life for so long that it wasn’t easy to turn off.

“Frago” tells the story of a young PFC who is traumatized by...