Casualties: Short Story

These are fictional accounts but they are filled with the kind of truth and honesty that we don't always find in fact-based news reports. As always, all these stories are available to read online — just click the title links. The setting here is an unnamed African village. And the plural first-person point of view heightens the sense of mystery. As we read on, we understand that it is about a country in revolution and the village visitors are mercenaries. Midway through the story, even with an unreliable narrator's voice, we see that we are dealing with deadly violence.

That Smith's storytelling manages to balance all that with a dry sort of irony is no ordinary feat.

The 19-year-old barman and Lancashire clerk who died on the first day

Staying with that first-person plural point of view from above, here is another story about a revolution. Ali gives us a crowd as a collective protagonist while also giving us individual memorable characters from within that crowd — again, no mean feat. This particular point of view is fascinating because, for a while, it was overdone, then fell mostly out of favor, and is now coming back.

The story is set in Zongo Street, a fictitious community in West Africa that's going through a dictator's takeover. Ali is from Ghana and based the story on a real dictator's coup in the country during the '70s. While this story contains three generations of mothers and daughters, the story is mostly about the narrator — a widowed mother of a precocious, spirited child. Their country is occupied by foreign soldiers. Their village is filled with the usual conservative, gossipy folks that make life hard for a single mother trying to raise a strong, independent girl by herself.

The child stands up to one of the soldiers, who then becomes a friend. But, of course, tongues start wagging. Despite the grim setting and context, Oyeyemi's narrator has a wry sense of humor and we see where the child gets her own sharp wit. There is much sadness and even danger here for mother and daughter, yet we see how the mother tries to keep both their spirits up and uses difficult moments as gentle teaching experiences for the daughter.

Hassan Blasim is an Iraqi-born writer who writes in Arabic. This story is part of a collection of five contemporary Arabic short stories.

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It was one of 24 published in The Common Mag, Issue 11 , which is dedicated to new fiction from across the Arab world. The narrator here is a ghost, yet it is not a ghost story. Also, though we all have read news accounts of such abandoned war zone villages and incidents of lone soldiers being tortured by enemy forces, reading about these things here gives them a different kind of immediacy and intensity. Most troubling of all, of course, is the central story about the mother and her daughter, both waiting for the father to return as he had promised them.

This is another Iraq story. At under 1, words, it's a brilliant piece of flash fiction that shows us a man attempting to return to his family life after having lived in captivity for some years. He finds it hard to get accustomed to a world of new objects and create some sort of normal existence for himself. His daughter, whom he had last known as a five-year-old, is also working to adjust to having him around. Both lives have been disrupted by war and both are trying to re-acclimate in their own ways.

Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk is a thought-provoking tale of both love and injustice, and in working with Moonlight composer Nicholas Brittell, the two find compelling musical motifs from unexpected places. Short Stories columnist Jenny Bhatt presents the finest of this year's short stories collections from a wide range of authors that have no fear of pushing the boundaries. Juno-winning Canadian songwriter Dan Mangan's love of his influences and peers has lead him to craft something quite joyous: This is no scene or collective. These artists have reached their limit in all directions, back into traditions and forward into uncertain futures.

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Well into her 30s, silent film star Mary Pickford was the waif-iest waif in film history, and the number of convincing variations she wrung on this theme is remarkable. Richard Tognetti reflects on synergising music and film with the cello-like voice of narrator Willem Dafoe in his work for Jennifer Peedom's gorgeous documentary, Mountain.

The rootsy releases of prove that Americana is and always has been experiencing a Rainbow Wave. Considering its YA audience, Markus Zusak's Bridge of Clay is a superb and accessible gateway to developing critical literacy skills. Popmatters is wholly independently owned and operated. In an interview with Signature, she justified why it is even more necessary now for art to help us challenge conventional ideas, images of war: It is with deep regret I write these few lines informing you of the death of your son Frank, which occurred on 1st July, He was in the same platoon as myself, and we were very great chums, and I think it my duty to write to you.

He was well liked by all in the company, and by his death we have lost a good comrade.

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He died doing his duty — leading his section in action, and I can assure you he got a good name and a proper burial, and the platoon and myself share our sympathy with you in your sad bereavement. He wrote many letters during his time at the front until his capture on 10 July We are only here for a day or two and then back. Honestly, kid, I am going to try and do something.

The aforesaid Ginger is in for a Military Medal for attending the wounded under shell fire … This is the last letter I can write for a bit for post is stopped from here after tonight. The allied troops found themselves locked in and were eventually bombed out. All were killed or, as in the case of Harry Snape, captured. Due to wounds on his hands and wrist Harry was hospitalised before being transferred to the POW camp in Hammelburg. He continued to write during his time there until his release and subsequent return home. John Patrick Connolly was years-old when he went missing during the assault.

What follows is an extract from the regimental diary of the 2nd battalion Yorkshire Regiment. This accomplished the Wiltshires were to attack from Maltz Horn Alley their right joining up with the left of the French who were attacking at the same time. The 19th Manchesters were in trenches behind available for support and the 18th Kings Liverpools were detailed to provide carrying parties, battalion HQ was at the Briqueterie.

For about 80 yards rising ground gave some cover but immediately this was topped a very heavy machine gun and rifle fire was opened from the edge of Trones Wood and the front line was practically hit to a man. Some men got into Trones Alley a communication trench between the two woods and Lt Field with the battalion bombers made an attempt to bomb up it and get into the wood, snipers in trees defeated this and seeing that without further and more powerful artillery support a direct attack was hopeless and a withdrawal to Bernafay Wood was ordered at am.

Short Stories: Casualties of War

The Germans now commenced a heavy and constant bombardment of Bernafay Wood with guns of every calibre. Cover was poor and for the rest of the day the battalion could do nothing but hold on under heavy punishment. Mens nerves were subjected to probably the greatest strain the battalion had yet to bear in this war and it was with great relief that at pm orders were received to withdraw. The train was fitted with wards, kitchens, a dispensary, office, storerooms and accommodation. Ruby worked on the train for six months travelling to and from the casualty clearing stations near the front.

Working on an ambulance train was hard work and there was a high illness rate among the personnel. Air raids were frequent and the windows blew in with the force of the explosions.

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Coping with large amounts of wounded men on the move made work incredibly intense. When not needed Royal Army Medical Corps staff sometimes went on long walks or played cricket and football with teams from other trains. Unlike military nurses, Red Cross nurses were allowed a degree of freedom when it came to mixing with men.

Sometimes personnel returned to find the train no longer in the sidings and had to hitch a ride to get back on board. In June No 16 train was hit by a bomb during a heavy raid in Etaples and it caught fire but luckily nobody was killed or badly injured. In Ruby was awarded a Royal Red Cross second class. Ruby was widowed in and moved south to support her young daughter. She died in the late s surrounded by family in Bournemouth. Submitted by granddaughter Sheila Brownlee with notes from British military nurse historian Sue Light.

He became an instructor after having survived a number of aircraft failures. The document shows an order of battle for 12 September belonging to Arthur John Cooper. Born in he worked in Norwich as a shoemaker before fighting as a young man in the Norfolk Regiment. The map shows the German positions the flags at the time as well as the position of the frontline. On the same day as the order, Ginchy was captured from the Germans by the French Sixth Army in what was its biggest attack of the battle so far.

Orders of battle were created to show the organisation, formation and command structure of armed forces. They recorded tactics employed and mapped the locations of friendly and enemy forces, as well as attempting to estimate their capabilities and their plans.

Short Stories: Casualties of War

Born in Killarney, Ireland, he was not assigned to any specific regiment nor did he limit his care solely to Irish soldiers or Catholics. Donal kept a diary ; a brief but moving record of four months in between his departure from Killarney on 28 February and his death on 5 July.

Two days before his death, he wrote: Busy day for chaplains. Donal was killed by a shell at the front as he gave an English soldier the last rites. The Englishman described Donal hearing confessions on horseback at the front while the shells flew and the penitent held the reins.