The Yellow Birds

A Novel

By: Kevin Powers

Narrated by: Holter Graham

Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

"The war tried to kill us in the spring," begins this breathtaking 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. 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.

Bound together since basic training when their tough-as-nails sergeant ordered Bartle to watch over Murphy, the two have been dropped into a war neither is prepared for. As reality begins to blur into a hazy nightmare, Murphy becomes increasingly unmoored from the world around him and Bartle takes impossible actions.

With profound emotional insight, especially into the effects of a hidden war on mothers and families at home, The Yellow Birds is a groundbreaking novel about the costs of war that is destined to become a classic.

©2012 Kevin Powers (P)2012 Hachette Audio

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Would you consider the audio edition of The Yellow Birds to be better than the print version?

probably because I don't like to read anymore

Who was your favorite character and why?

the main character. he was the "I"

What does Holter Graham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great listen.

If you could rename The Yellow Birds, what would you call it?

how to develop post traumatic stress disorder

Any additional comments?

I work with veterans who won't or don't talk about their experiences. This story helped me understand some of what they might have experienced.

Wonderful and powerful

I needed to read it, to re-establish my faith in truth-telling... beautiful and poetic in its bluntness, every word is an image, powerful and terrifying...

Sobering View of the Mental Effects of War

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would highly recommend this audiobook to anyone interested in war, particularly the after effects of being in highly intense, traumatic situations. The novel is detailed, compelling, and quite indicative of the mental and emotional toll the Iraqi war has had on our generation of veterans.

What other book might you compare The Yellow Birds to and why?

I haven't read too many books like this, but I've read in other reviews that this is sort of like the modern day version of "All Is Calm On The Western Front".

What does Holter Graham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Graham conveys the emotion of the characters very well, especially during some of the internal monologues.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Absolutely. About 3/4 of way into the story, there's a particularly epic internal monologue/rant where the main character essentially vents all the pent up emotion at once, and you hear first hand what kind of impact such experiences can have on a young man.

Any additional comments?

A solid first novel from Kevin Powers, the story is captivating and gripping, and I found it hard to put down as soon as I got it.

OverRated Cause it's the first real Iraq War Novel

Any additional comments?

'The Yellow Birds' is pretty typical war book fare. The one time it gets beyond that is when he comes home and everybody is congratulating hin om killing all those hadjis. Then he knows he is not deserving of praise, because he had unbelievably stronger fire power which he used indiscriminately. A book about the Iraq War from the Iraqi viewpoint would be much more interesting.

Literary novel, Not a "buddy book"

This books deserves to rank among the top modern war novels, but listeners looking for a war adventure or listeners looking for a triumph of spirit will be disappointed. But this well narrated book drills down to capture the alienation of thoughtful soldiers and veterans. I was emotionally and intellectually transported back to my Vietnam days. The plot is in fact a modest mystery that unfolds ingeniously as the narration moves back and forth between the war and the narrator's return to the states. Descriptions are often poetic, dialogue simple and raw. Holter Graham does a great job for me of capturing the young voices (they were all young) of the troops in Afghanistan and the accents of the narrators and his ill fated "charge," Murphy.

The truth of deployment in fiction.

Although it is fiction it reads like non-fiction. I can't speak to it's realism but it seemed pretty accurate from what I have heard it is like to be deployed in a war zone in the Middle East. It is a depressing story but very interesting and well performed by Holter Graham. Don't look to this book to make you feel good about sending soldiers to fight a war. Look to it for a description of what those soldiers might go through once there.

Terminology sometime vague for non military reader

What did you love best about The Yellow Birds?

General layout of surrounding, difficult to get a good mental discription of surroundings raison de terre: (reason for being there).

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The attitude of the state of the author's motivations was overlooked. What was the objective?

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The continutity of events: realtive to the rational outlook of the author. The discriotion of the flora and fauna.

If you could rename The Yellow Birds, what would you call it?

The foundation or objective was not stated clearly described. A
Title: What was objective this small group of military persons? Title: The Objective of the mission?

Any additional comments?

This was a reasonably good description of the main theme of warfare but not the longterm reason or objective of the military objective. Was the objective successful?

Great book, great audio performance.

I do not write many reviews although I listen to multiple audio books every week. This book was particularly well written and meaningful. The narrator was excellent, conveying the beauty of the author’s cadence and word choices. I highly recommend this book.

Very atriculate and emotional novel of the Iraqwar

The Yellow Birds, while very emotional and well written has me wondering about the moral message related in this book. Yellow Birds does not, I believe, give you insight into the war or in the stateside portion of it anymore than the movie Apocalypse Now gives a view of Vietnam. While it is short i think it is still worth the credit. I believe the book The Good Soldiers was much better and it is an actual account of the Iraq war.

Compelling narrative. A true page turner!

Compelling narrative. A true page turner! It sheds a light on what war does to our soldiers and it underscores the root of PTSD without calling it out by name.