Fives and Twenty-Fives

(Paperback)

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Description

It is the early months of the Arab Spring, 2011. But for three young men, two American and one Iraqi, their minds return again and again to 2006, to the bloodiest stretch of the Iraq War. Members of the same platoon, they were tasked with the often deadly job of repairing potholes in the roads of the Al Anbar Province: potholes that almost always concealed a home-made bomb. They have survived the war but now they must learn to live with themselves. As they struggle to find their place in a world that no longer knows them, they realise that the war has left nothing in their lives untouched and that salvation may come from an unexpected quarter.

Reviews

An unblinking, razor-edged portrait of war ... Deeply moving * Michiko Kakutani, New York Times *
An assured, humane and deeply felt depiction of a group of characters whose inner lives extend convincingly beyond the way that brings them together * Financial Times *
Pitre shows a rare skill in converting his real-life experiences into a psychologically convincing account of the terrible problems faced by soldiers in war * Daily Mail *
Fives and Twenty-Fives might well herald a new era in American war novels, one in which Americans are no longer the stars * Guardian *
Pitre is at his best when describing the unique mix of tedium and terror that marks the life of a Marine Compelling * Washington Post *

Author Bio

Michael Pitre is a graduate of LSU, where, as a double major in history and creative writing, he studied with Andrei Codrescu and Mark Jude Poirier. He joined the US Marines in 2002, deploying twice to Iraq and attaining the rank of Captain before leaving the service in 2010 to get his MBA at Loyola. He lives in New Orleans. Fives and Twenty-Fives is his first novel.