Sparta

Product Description


[Library Edition Audiobook CD in sturdy Vinyl case.]


''Sparta made young boys into warriors; it was left to the warriors to restore themselves to men . . .''

Conrad Farrell's family has no military heritage, but as a classics major at Williams, he saw the sturdy appeal of the Marine ethic: Semper fidelis came straight from the ancient world, from Sparta, where every citizen doubled as a full-time soldier. When Conrad joined the Marines after college, he expected to further a long tradition of honor, courage, and commitment.

Now Conrad has just returned home to Westchester after four years in Iraq, and something is very wrong. Everything should be fine - he hasn't been shot or wounded by an IED, and he's never had psychological troubles - but as he attempts to reconnect with his girlfriend and find his footing in the civilian world, he has an impossible time adjusting to the people and places he used to love and to a commonplace life of hotel reservations, dinner conversation, long showers, and alone time. As the weeks turn into months, Conrad's bitterness only festers, and he begins to fear that his rage, when it comes out, will have irreparable consequences.

Suspenseful and perceptive,
Sparta captures the nuances of the unique estrangement that modern soldiers face as they attempt to rejoin the society they've fought for. With the powerful insight and acuity that marked
Cost and her earlier novels, Robinson has delivered her best book yet.


Review


''
Sparta gives us an unflinching portrayal of the costs of war, costs that go far beyond what the tallies of killed and wounded can tell us. There are plenty of losses that can be measured only in the language of the spirit, and it's books such as this one, necessary books, that guide us to a fuller appreciation of war's costs.'' --Ben Fountain,
New York Times bestselling author

''
Sparta is a feat of the imagination. Vividly and with unflinching wisdom, Robinson has given voice, substance and profound reality to her protagonist Conrad Farrell of the Marine Corps -- and in so doing to thousands of veterans like him.'' --Claire Messud,
New York Times bestselling author

''One of our best writers.'' --
Washington Post, praise for the author

''An intelligent, sensitive analyst of family life.'' --
Chicago Tribune, praise for the author

''Both lyrical and unsentimental, richly honest and humane.'' --
Wall Street Journal, praise for the author


About the Author


ROXANA ROBINSON is the author of several novels, including
Cost; three collections of short stories; and the biography
Georgia O'Keeffe: A Life. Her work has appeared in the
New Yorker, Harper's, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, More, and
Vogue, among other publications.