It's no secret that Tobias Wolff is one of my favorite authors, so I've been in the process of returning to some of his earlier works. The Barracks Thief was his first novella and I have to say at first read I kept expecting more to happem. Somehow I had anticipated in my head that the unit would go to vietnam and the story would conclude in some heroic fashion- but the it started to sink in. All the characters, how human and real they were- how the theft seemed silly and simple until the heart of it sinks in. You may not like this book first time through but I found it affecting me days and weeks after I finished. Even now I'm thinking of the thief and wondering how he got so wrapped up in nonsense to steal from his own platoon. If you liked this book try Tobias Wolff's memoir In Pharoh's Army- it's a side of Vietnam that isn't really discussed and has a quiet, haunting feel to it.
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