The Suicide Run

This collection, published in 2009 by Random House, brings together five narratives by William Styron based on his experiences in the U. S. Marine Corps during the Second World War and the Korean War. The narratives are “Blankenship,” “Marriott, the Marine,” “The Suicide Run,” “My Father’s House,” and “Elobey, Annobón, and Corisco.” The last two of these are previously unpublished.

Together these narratives give a complex picture of military life—its hardships, deprivations, and stupidities; its esprit, camaraderie, and seductive allure. The stories were written during different periods of Styron’s career: he remained fascinated by the military throughout his life and, for the final twenty-five years of his career, was at work on a WWII novel, never finished, to be called The Way of the Warrior.