description: The Barracks Thief is the story of three young paratroopers waiting to be shipped out to Vietnam. Brought together one sweltering afternoon to stand guard over an ammunition dump threatened by a forest fire, they discover in each other an unexpected capacity for recklessness and violence. Far from being alarmed by this discovery, they are exhilarated by it; they emerge from their common danger full of confidence in their own manhood and in the bond of friendship they have formed. This confidence is shaken when a series of thefts occur. The author embraces the perspectives of both the betrayer and the betrayed, forcing us to participate in lives that we might otherwise condemn, and to recognize the kinship of those lives to our own.
language: English
title: The Barracks Thief
titlecomplete: The Barracks Thief
genres: Short Stories, American, Historical Fiction, Novella, Literary Fiction, Novels, Literature, Military Fiction, War, Fiction
ratings_count: 1740
awards: awardedAt: 473414400000
name: PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
publisher: Bantam