The Barracks Thief

Three young paratroopers fall under question following a series of thefts during the Vietnam War in this novella by the author of This Boy’s Life.

Winner, Pen Faulkner Award

“If words on paper could make sounds, you would hear me shouting now, urging you to read this book.” —Andre Dubus

The Barracks Thief is the story of three young paratroopers waiting to be shipped out to Vietnam. Brought together one sweltering afternoon to stand guard over an ammunition dump threatened by a forest fire, they discover in each other an unexpected capacity for recklessness and violence. Far from being alarmed by this discovery, they are exhilarated by it; they emerge from their common danger full of confidence in their own manhood and in the bond of friendship they have formed.

This confidence is shaken when a series of thefts occur. The author embraces the perspectives of both the betrayer and the betrayed, forcing us to participate in lives that we might otherwise condemn, and to recognize the kinship of those lives to our own.

“There is a real power in this slim novel.” —Anne Tyler

“Tobias Wolff has somehow gotten his hands on our shared secrets, and he’s out to tell everything he knows.” —Raymond Carver