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Spoils
Spoils | Brian Van Reet
10 posts | 7 read | 17 to read
It is the spring of 2003 and coalition forces are advancing on Iraq. Images of a giant statue of Saddam Hussein crashing to the ground in Baghdad are being beamed to news channels around the world. Nineteen-year-old Specialist Cassandra Wigheard, on her first deployment since joining the US army two years earlier, is primed for war. For Abu al-Hool, a jihadist since the days of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, war is wearing thin. Two decades of fighting - and the new wave of super-radicalised fighters joining the ranks in the wake of the September 11 attacks - have left him questioning his commitment to the struggle. When Cassandra is taken prisoner by al-Hool's mujahideen brotherhood, both fighters will find their loyalties tested to the very limits. This fast-paced, hard-hitting account of eight weeks in the lives of a soldier and her captor forces us to reconsider the simplistic narratives of war spun by those in power. With its privileged insight into the reality of armed combat, Spoils shines a light on the uncertainty, fear and idealism that characterised the early days of one of the most important conflicts of our time.
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OneLitChick
Spoils | Brian Van Reet
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MrBook 😎👌🏻 7y
26 likes1 comment
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lauralovesbooks1
Spoils | Brian Van Reet
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Harrowing and heartbreaking. Van Reet takes an unflinching look at war and it's impact on both sides. No side is all good or all bad and there are those on both sides that believe all action is justified and those on both sides that believe none of the action is justified. This one gives you a lot to think about.

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OneLitChick
Spoils | Brian Van Reet
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A Book + A Boxer = A Perfect Saturday
#TheseAreAFewOfMyFavoriteThings

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Reading.BetweenTheWines
Spoils | Brian Van Reet
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Stating a new book tonight!

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DeborahSmall
Spoils | Brian Van Reet
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#bookmail #goldsboro lovely sprayed black edges on this limited edition signed copy 😍📚💕

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ScorpioBookDreams
Spoils | Brian Van Reet
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#bookmark from Goldsboro. Really looking forward to this one. It's about the Iraq war and the author used to be in the army so it should be credible.

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nofutureparttwo
Spoils | Brian Van Reet
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Wow. This is a fearlessly honest examination of the causes and costs of the US invasion of Iraq, in all of its absurd and complexly violent hypocrisy. In elegant and haunting prose, Van Reet contemplates the possibility for justice and moral action on all sides of the conflict, and what such things would've looked like. I was particularly struck by the compassion and insight with which he narrates Cassandra's experience. An excellent novel.

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Liberty
Spoils | Brian Van Reet
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Evening reading. 🔥

nofutureparttwo About to finish this tonight! So, so good. 7y
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Lucylovesreading
Spoils | Brian Van Reet
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I highly recommend this for anyone who has yet to venture into any literature on the Iraq war.

This will haunt you and make you more aware of the cost both physical, emotionally and mentally that our troops go through. As a Navy wife the dangers are all too real, but I'm thankful everyday for every man and woman who protects our country. I'd also like to thank the author Brian Van Reet for his service. 🇺🇸
4⭐️‘s

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Lucylovesreading
Spoils | Brian Van Reet
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"Death by micromanagement" or as my husband (who's in the navy) says "hurry up and wait".