“Even harder was describing his sense that Shroom’s death might have ruined him for anything else, because when he died? when I… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“God knows the war sucks, but he sees no great appeal in these tepid peacetime lives.” — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“No it was my choice. It's what I wanted to do. And I knew they'd probably send me to Iraq. It's not… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“...he wonders by what process virtually any discussion about the war seems to profane these ultimate matters of life and death. As… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“He'd say "I love you" to every man in the squad before rolling out, say it straight, with no joking or smart-ass… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“Dread of returning to Iraq equals the direst poverty, and that's how he feels right now, poor , like a shabby homeless… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“Fear is the mother of all emotion. Before love, hate, spite, grief, rage, and all the rest, there was fear, and fear… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“For the past two weeks he's been feeling so superior and smart because of all the things he knows from the war,… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“If ever there was a prime-time trigger for PTSD you couldn't do much better than this, but lucky for Norm, the crowd,… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
Surely it's no coincidence that the Era of the AUMF, the Era of Endless War, is also the Golden Era of the… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“[Norm said,] 'To all those who argue this war is a mistake, I'd like to point out that we've removed from power… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“The singing triggers a soft detonation at his core, molten parts of him are flying everywhere and his ears ring to the tune of… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“Even harder was describing his sense that Shroom’s death might have ruined him for anything else, because when he died? when I felt his… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“Without ever exactly putting his mind to it, he's come to believe that loss is standard trajectory. Something new appears in the world—a baby,… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“But I am scared. Everybody's scared." "You know what I mean, like scared scared. Like coward scared, like if you never went to begin… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“God knows the war sucks, but he sees no great appeal in these tepid peacetime lives.” — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“What he'd like to say is that he's lived it, if not the entire breadth and depth of the Christian faith then certainly the… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
By the end of the first decade of writing, I considered myself a confirmed failure in the eyes of the world. — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
I started publishing stories in small magazines early on, but after seven or eight or nine years you feel like you need a little… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“I think sometimes nothing is better than something. I mean, I’d rather have nothing than let this guy use me like his bitch.” — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“No it was my choice. It's what I wanted to do. And I knew they'd probably send me to Iraq. It's not like anybody… — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
It's amazing what happens when you stick yourself in a place and let things take their more or less natural course. — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
“As if sorrow is the true reality? Without ever putting his mind to it, he's come to believe that loss is the standard trajectory.” — Ben Fountain Copy Share Image
