Elizabeth Marro

One of my goals this year is to wade through the ever-growing ocean of contemporary fiction in the hopes of finding some gems to share with reluctant high school readers -- hence my recent collecting of ARCs. Since contemporary fiction isn't my preferred genre, I've been looking for topics and authors that currently seem to appeal to the audience that my other half teaches -- in particular, military and adventure fiction for the guys, relationship fiction for the girls.

I picked this novel up since it seemed like it might have some appeal to both groups, but after finishing it, I'm not sure this is going to be much of a hit with them. There's certainly a realistic speculation of what can happen to the soldier after returning from war, but although the grief displayed by the mother seemed honest enough, the execution of the road trip (in a Jaguar no less) seemed unrealistic and fanciful. I didn't really find most of her journey very interesting (both geographically and psychologically in terms of the story's progression).… (mer)

4.5 stars.

Casualties by Elizabeth Marrow is a heartrending and deeply moving novel about grief, suicide and the devastating toll war has on returning soldiers.

Ruth Nolan is eagerly anticipating her son Robbie's return home after completing his tours in Iraq. However, unbeknownst to Ruth, Robbie is having an extremely difficult time transitioning back to normal life and he is also suffering from severe PTSD. After visiting his great-grandmother and uncle, Robbie finally flies home to see Ruth, but their visit is quickly interrupted by a work emergency. Unable to break away until coming up with a solution for the problem, Ruth returns later that evening to an empty house. She soon grows frantic as her calls and texts go unanswered but she is still unprepared for the shocking news that Robbie has taken his own life. Wracked with guilt and unable to cope with his loss, Ruth sets out on a road trip where she immediately crosses path with Casey MacInerney, a Gulf War veteran who is struggling with demons of his own.

Robbie makes a short but very important appearance in the beginning of the novel and although this glimpse is all too brief, his presence is keenly felt as the rest of story unfolds. His torment over his fallen friends is palpable as is his inability to make sense out life outside of a combat zone. He is also haunted by the things he saw and did during his deployments and despite his best efforts, he is unable to find peace from the ravages of war. Robbie's attempts to quiet his inner demons are heart wrenching and it is impossible not to feel empathy for his suffering.

Desperate to leave her painful childhood behind, Ruth dedicated herself to her career while raising Robbie as a single mother. She worked long hours and sacrificed time with her son to keep moving up the corporate ladder. Looking back, Ruth cannot help but regret her past decisions that led to missed opportunities with Robbie. After his suicide, she blames herself for his death and she is haunted by her decision to go to work instead of staying home with him. When her pain becomes too much to bear, Ruth impulsively flees without any idea where she is going and after she begins traveling with Casey, she slowly begins to come to terms with her tragic loss.

Casey is carrying a heavy load of guilt over his decision to leave his family behind a dozen years earlier. His tour of duty in the first Gulf War left mental and physical scars and fearing he would only end up hurting his loved ones, he chose to walk away from them. Just as Ruth enters his life, Casey is at long last ready to face his past mistakes and he strikes a deal with Ruth to make the trip together. Their cross country journey is at first filled with tension, but as they gradually share their burdens with one another, they finally begin to heal.

Casualties by Elizabeth Marrow is a poignant novel that is heartbreaking yet uplifting. The emotional journeys of both Casey and Ruth are redemptive as they acknowledge their mistakes and move forward as best they can. For Casey, this means going through with his reunion with his loved ones despite his fears and doubts. In addition to her grief and guilt, Ruth also faces a moral quandary that could cost her the professional success she has sacrificed so much to achieve. While the story does not conclude with a traditional happily ever after, it is nonetheless hopeful as Ruth and Casey make peace with their respective pasts and begin to look toward the future.… (mer)

It's an odd coincidence that I read Elizabeth Marro's first novel, CASUALTIES, so soon after having read another book called CONSEQUENCE, a brand new memoir by Eric Fair. Because, to a certain extent, the two books share common subjects, the role of contract workers in the current wars, as well as the responsibilities of the large corporations that supply those workers. Fair was one of those contract workers, an interrogator of prsoners, and his memoir speaks in searing tones about the 'consequences' of being a highly paid participant in these "forever wars" which have caused such wide-spread suffering and misery for so long now.

Marro's novel employs two central characters. One is Ruth Nolan, an upper-level executive for RyCom Systems, a multi-billion dollar San Diego-based company which supplies contractors to the war effort. It becomes quickly obvious that RyCom, has little regard for its employees, duping them into signing contracts with half-truths and lies and then denying insurance claims when they are injured or killed. Nolan has learned to turn a blind eye to such practices in the name of profit-sharing and wealth. When a group of wives and widows bring a class action suit against RyCom, the company makes Nolan a scapegoat. And then her son, a Marine, who has served in Iraq, comes home and kills himself, turning her world upside down. Torn with grief and guilt, Ruth takes her son's ashes and hits the road, heading east.

Along the way she meets Casey, a one-legged Gulf War vet who has been fleeing his own demons for a dozen years, and they form an uneasy alliance as they continue east, Casey back to a daughter he abandoned in Jersey City, and Ruth to what is left of her own family in New Hampshire, a brother and grandmother. From this point, the novel becomes a somewhat lumbering "road trip" with frequent stops and starts, as the two characters agonize over what to do next, continually reassessing their own lives, and wondering whether to trust each other.

Unfortunately, the Casey-Ruth combination never quite rang true for me. His sensitive-orphan-damaged-vet character seemed a bit too contrived and pat, much less believable than the character of Ruth. The second half of the book read like a hybrid of "chic lit," war lit, and romance. Too many of Casey's lines are like nothing I would expect an embittered, alcoholic veteran to ever say. The dialogue simply did not ring true. (Maybe that's my fault though. I have, after all, been spoiled by some truly superb war fiction written by a woman in Katey Schultz's story collection, FLASHES OF WAR.)

And yet, and yet ... I kept on turning the pages. Because Ruth's story was that compelling. And every now and then something true and worldly wise would come from Casey too. For example -

"No matter how you look at war, that one, this one, and probably the next, it's all a f***ing machine set up to make a few people rich, or guard their property, or both."

And that line in particular really grabbed me, because for large corporations everywhere, war can be a very profitable business, a way to get rich. In that respect, war, like the poor, will probably always be with us. Ruth Nolan and her bosses at RyCom Systems are proof of that. Marro's story is real enough to get that sad point across, as well as her more obvious one - that all the casualties are not on the battlefield. Marriages, families, lives everywhere are broken and destroyed by war and its long reach.

I will not hesitate to recommend CASUALTIES highly, particularly to women readers who will, I think, more easily identify with its style and sensibility. Well done, Ms. Marro.… (mer)