Plain of Jars: And Other Stories

By Geary Hobson

In the opening story of Geary Hobson's riveting new collection, Plain of Jars, a young private confides to his friend that he's trying to leave the Marine Corps. "I am not doing this just because I find the Marine Corps too tough," Warren Needham says, but because violence is contradictory to his faith. The story's surprising climax, however, reveals a different side of Needham's contradictory nature. It's this acute understanding of conflict that characterizes Plain of Jars, a book populated by bullies, men in combat, abusive spouses, and Native Americans seeking a sense of personal identity in an environment where conformity is law. The U.S. Marine Corps sets the stage for a number of these stories, whose protagonists combat racism, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and the looming reality of the Vietnam War. With pitch perfect dialogue and a sense of the unexpected, Plain of Jars tests the depths of complex lives.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0870139983
• ISBN13: 9780870139987
• Release Date: May 2011
• Publisher: Michigan State University Press
• Length: 245 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.0"