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The Suicide Run

Five Tales of the Marine Corps

Five Tales of the Marine Corps

Five Tales of the Marine Corps

By William Styron

By William Styron

By William Styron

By William Styron

By William Styron
Read by Mark Deakins

By William Styron
Read by Mark Deakins

Best Seller
Paperback $15.00

Sep 14, 2010 | 208 Pages

Ebook $4.99

Oct 06, 2009 | 208 Pages

Audiobook Download $16.00

Oct 06, 2009 | 330 Minutes

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    The Suicide Run by William Styron
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    Sep 14, 2010 | 208 Pages
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      Sep 14, 2010 | 208 Pages

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      Oct 06, 2009 | 208 Pages

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    About The Suicide Run

    The Suicide Run collects five of William Styron’s meticulously rendered narratives based on his real-life experiences as a U.S. Marine. In “Blankenship,” Styron draws on his stint as a guard at a stateside military prison at the end of World War II. “Marriott, the Marine” and “The Suicide Run”—which Styron composed as part of an intended novel that he set aside to write Sophie’s Choice—depict the surreal experience of being conscripted a second time, after World War II, to serve in the Korean War. “My Father’s House” captures the frustration of a soldier trying to become a civilian again. In “Elobey, Annobón, and Corisco,” a soldier attempts to exorcise the dread of an approaching battle by daydreaming about far-off islands, visited vicariously through his childhood stamp collection.  

        Perhaps the last volume from one of literature’s greatest voices, The Suicide Run brings to life the drama, absurdity, and heroism that forever changed the men who served in the Marine Corps.

    About The Suicide Run

    The Suicide Run collects five of William Styron’s meticulously rendered narratives based on his real-life experiences as a U.S. Marine. In “Blankenship,” Styron draws on his stint as a guard at a stateside military prison at the end of World War II. “Marriott, the Marine” and “The Suicide Run”—which Styron composed as part of an intended novel that he set aside to write Sophie’s Choice—depict the surreal experience of being conscripted a second time, after World War II, to serve in the Korean War. “My Father’s House” captures the frustration of a soldier trying to become a civilian again. In “Elobey, Annobón, and Corisco,” a soldier attempts to exorcise the dread of an approaching battle by daydreaming about far-off islands, visited vicariously through his childhood stamp collection.  

        Perhaps the last volume from one of literature’s greatest voices, The Suicide Run brings to life the drama, absurdity, and heroism that forever changed the men who served in the Marine Corps.

    About The Suicide Run

    Before writing his memoir of madness, Darkness Visible, William Styron was best known for his ambitious works of fiction–including The Confessions of Nat Turner and Sophie’s Choice. Styron also created personal but no less powerful tales based on his real-life experiences as a U.S. Marine. The Suicide Run collects five of these meticulously rendered narratives. One of them–“Elobey, Annobón, and Corisco”–is published here for the first time.

    In “Blankenship,” written in 1953, Styron draws on his stint as a guard at a stateside military prison at the end of World War II. “Marriott, the Marine” and “The Suicide Run”–which Styron composed in the early 1970s as part of an intended novel that he set aside to write Sophie’s Choice–depict the surreal experience of being conscripted a second time, after World War II, to serve in the Korean War. “My Father’s House” captures the isolation and frustration of a soldier trying to become a civilian again. In “Elobey, Annobón, and Corisco,” written late in Styron’s life, a soldier attempts to exorcise the dread of an approaching battle by daydreaming about far-off islands, visited vicariously through his childhood stamp collection.

    Perhaps the last volume from one of literature’s greatest voices, The Suicide Run brings to life the drama, inhumanity, absurdity, and heroism that forever changed the men who served in the Marine Corps.

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Also by William Styron

    My Generation
    Selected Letters of William Styron
    Havanas in Camelot
    Darkness Visible
    A Tidewater Morning
    See all books by William Styron

    Also by William Styron

    My Generation
    Selected Letters of William Styron
    Havanas in Camelot
    Darkness Visible
    A Tidewater Morning
    See all books by William Styron

    Also by William Styron

    My Generation
    Selected Letters of William Styron
    Havanas in Camelot
    Darkness Visible
    A Tidewater Morning
    See all books by William Styron

    About William Styron

    William Styron (1925–2006), a native of the Virginia Tidewater, was a graduate of Duke University and a veteran of the US Marine Corps. His books include The Confessions of Nat Turner, Sophie’s Choice, and Darkness Visible. He was awarded the Pulitzer… More about William Styron

    About William Styron

    William Styron (1925–2006), a native of the Virginia Tidewater, was a graduate of Duke University and a veteran of the US Marine Corps. His books include The Confessions of Nat Turner, Sophie’s Choice, and Darkness Visible. He was awarded the Pulitzer… More about William Styron

    About William Styron

    William Styron (1925–2006), a native of the Virginia Tidewater, was a graduate of Duke University and a veteran of the US Marine Corps. His books include The Confessions of Nat Turner, Sophie’s Choice, and Darkness Visible. He was awarded the Pulitzer… More about William Styron

    Product Details

    Category: Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction | Military Fiction

    Paperback | $15.00
    Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks
    Sep 14, 2010 | 208 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780812980240

    Category: Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction | Military Fiction

    Ebook | $4.99
    Published by Random House
    Oct 06, 2009 | 208 Pages | ISBN 9781588369062

    Category: Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction | Military Fiction | Audiobooks

    Audiobook Download | $16.00
    Published by Random House Audio
    Oct 06, 2009 | 330 Minutes | ISBN 9780739385173

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    Praise

    “Short fiction from a Southern master of the sweeping, ambitiously themed, epic novel.. . . Taken as a whole, these fragments illuminate their author’s obsessions and make the reader wish Styron had completed at least two more novels. Essential reading for the writer’s fans; a revelatory footnote for others.”—Kirkus Reviews


    “Styron’s prose is as assured as ever and his knack for character is masterful.”—Publishers Weekly


    “Styron has always been drawn to moral and emotional complexity, and in these three stories we see him at work skillfully exploring that rich and provocative terrain again.”—Library Journal

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