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Bring Out the Dog: Stories Hardcover – March 6, 2018

by Will Mackin (Author)

33 customer reviews

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“A near-miraculous, brilliant debut.”—George Saunders, Man Booker Prize–winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo

“In one exquisitely crafted story after the next, Will Mackin maps the surreal psychological terrain of soldiers in a perpetual war.”—Phil Klay, National Book Award–winning author of Redeployment

The eleven stories in Will Mackin’s mesmerizing debut collection draw from his many deployments with a special operations task force in Iraq and Afghanistan. They began as notes he jotted on the inside of his forearm in grease pencil and, later, as bullet points on the torn-off flap of an MRE kit. Whenever possible he incorporated those notes into his journals. Years later, he used those journals to write this book.

Together, the stories in Bring Out the Dog offer a remarkable portrait of the absurdity and poetry that define life in the most elite, clandestine circles of modern warfare. It is a world of intense bonds, ancient credos, and surprising compassion—of success, failure, and their elusive definitions. Moving between settings at home and abroad, in vivid language that reflects the wonder and discontent of war, Mackin draws the reader into a series of surreal, unsettling, and deeply human episodes: In “Crossing the River No Name,” a close call suggests that miracles do exist, even if they are in brutally short supply; in “Great Circle Route Westward Through Perpetual Night,” the death of the team’s beloved dog plunges them into a different kind of grief; in “Kattekoppen,” a man struggles to reconcile his commitments as a father and his commitments as a soldier; and in “Baker’s Strong Point,” a man whose job it is to pull things together struggles with a loss of control.

Told without a trace of false bravado and with a keen, Barry Hannah–like sense of the absurd, Bring Out the Dog manages to capture the tragedy and heroism, the degradation and exultation, in the smallest details of war.

Advance praise for Bring Out the Dog

“Good stories that deal with war must deal with the extremes of war: heroic altruism and murderous selfishness, piercing beauty and disgusting ugliness. Mackin hits all the notes and all the notes sound true. These stories are right at the top with the best I’ve ever read.”—Karl Marlantes, New York Times bestselling author of Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A near-miraculous, brilliant debut—a perfect storm of rarefied and timely experience expressed in a jaw-droppingly original prose style—this collection opens new doors through which the short story form may now step. Bring Out the Dog announces the arrival of a great writer, at just the moment when his signature combination of complexity, heart, stylistic verve, and fearlessness is sorely needed. If you harbor any doubts about fiction’s essentiality or relevance—its ability to expand to accommodate the special insanity of the historical moment—read this and be consoled. Will Mackin has written a first book that will last a long, long time—as long as there are wars and human beings fighting them.”—George Saunders, Man Booker Prize–winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo

“Stunning . . . In one exquisitely crafted story after the next, Will Mackin maps the surreal psychological terrain of soldiers in a perpetual war.”—Phil Klay, National Book Award–winning author of Redeployment

“Good stories that deal with war must deal with the extremes of war: heroic altruism and murderous selfishness, piercing beauty and disgusting ugliness. Mackin hits all the notes and all the notes sound true. These stories are right at the top with the best I’ve ever read.”—Karl Marlantes, New York Times bestselling author of Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War

“Unforgettable . . . It is the language as much as the experience that drives the action, creating taut, almost terrifying suspense. Mackin’s masterful prose is both poetic and aggressive.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

About the Author

WILL MACKIN, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, served in Iraq and Afghanistan. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, and Tin House, and has been anthologized in the Best American Short Stories 2014. Originally from New Jersey, he now lives in New Mexico with his wife and two children.

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Product details

Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Random House (March 6, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0812995643
ISBN-13: 978-0812995640
Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.7 x 8.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 33 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3326 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > War
- #3658 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Short Stories & Anthologies > Anthologies
- #3864 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Short Stories & Anthologies > Short Stories

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JayByrd

Do You Want to Feel the War in the Middle East?

April 12, 2018

Verified Purchase

Brilliant book. I could not put it down. Read it in one sitting. Incredible emotional impact from someone who has been there and done that. It is a cross between short story and emotional memoir that contains all the elements necessary for it to ring true while being fictional. Exceptional writing. I hope we hear more from this author. It is not the slick over-edited version of war with moral endings. A day in the lives of the men in these stories melded one into another. The stories don't end in a tidy way, but in the realistic way that life actually unfolds. You feel as if you are walking in the narrator's boots, seeing thru his night goggles and thinking his thoughts.

4 people found this helpful5 people found this helpful

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Mike Antosia

Mackin's book is beautiful and crazy and sad

March 29, 2018

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Mackin's book is beautiful and crazy and sad. "Kattekoppen" joins Thom Jones' "The Pugilist at Rest" as a masterpiece of contemporary war fiction.

2 people found this helpful3 people found this helpful

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Brian Van Reet

Excellent stories

August 13, 2018

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Simply put, some of the best fiction to come out of America's post-9-11 wars. By far my favorite book by or about special operators, in this case, Navy Seals. But don't confuse this with American Sniper. That book is garbage - this one is what literature can do at its best.

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Bill

Good stories

July 2, 2018

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Very interesting series of short stories. The writer really can put you into another place with his descriptive writing style.

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Robert Elling

An impressive group of short stories (or one non-chronological continuous ...

June 5, 2018

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An impressive group of short stories (or one non-chronological continuous story) that well conveys how surreal war is, and how our humanity is on the line every day.

One person found this helpful2 people found this helpful

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Larry

Just booked never did capture my attention

August 4, 2018

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I had just read War Junkie and was looking for another good read but was highly disappointed.

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katy

Definitely recommend it to anyone

March 22, 2018

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Outstanding book!! Definitely recommend it to anyone!

One person found this helpful2 people found this helpful

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Joseph A. DePasquale

Great book

August 6, 2018

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Great service and book

One person found this helpful

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