November Book Discussion Focus on Veterans

In honor of our veterans, the Hamden Library Book Discussion Group will discuss "The Yellow Birds," by Iraq War veteran Kevin Powers, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Friends Room of the Miller Memorial Library, 2901 Dixwell Ave.  

Based on Mr. Powers’ experience in Iraq, the book was a National Book Award Finalist in 2012. According to New York Times reviewer, Benjamin Percy, “Kevin Powers has something to say, something deeply moving about the frailty of man and the brutality of war, and we should all lean closer and listen.”

Bookbrowser.com writes, “’The war tried to kill us in the spring.’ So begins 
this powerful account of friendship and loss. In Al Tafar, Iraq, 21-year-old Private Bartle and 18-year-old Private Murphy cling to life as their platoon launches a bloody battle for the city. Bound together since basic training when Bartle makes a promise to bring Murphy safely home, the two have been dropped into a war neither is prepared for. In the endless days that follow, the two young soldiers 
do everything to protect each other from the forces that press in on every side: the insurgents, physical fatigue, and the mental stress that comes from constant danger. As reality begins to blur into a hazy nightmare, Murphy becomes increasingly unmoored from the world around him and Bartle takes actions 
he could never have imagined.”

The discussion program is free and open to the public. Copies of the book are available at the library. For more information please call 287-2680.