arthur_figgis

The train represents the horrible but nonetheless tantalizing possibility of total personal and professional disaster that is irresistably attractive to McNulty because it lends a sense of excitement (and thus meaning) to his life. There ya go.

t. book-teachin' guy

High school English teacher here and I use an excerpt from Homicide every year as a run-up to my Lord of the Flies unit- the part where the police raid the rowhouse and discover the dozens of people living in utter squalor. I've ended up purchasing and then giving away at least 10 copies of the book.

If there were one book you'd have each high schooler in modern America read, what would it be?

Dispatches reminds me - are you at all familiar with Karl Marlantes' Vietnam novel Matterhorn? Incredible piece of writing from a Navy Cross-awarded Marine vet - also mirrors the themes of institutional dysfunction that often appear in your work, e.g. mid-level officers fudging body counts after a firefight to count as a "win."

Just when I thought I was out - they pull me back in.

Teddy Duchamp does the same thing in "Stand By Me."