The Soldier’s House

In The Soldier’s House, Helen Benedict tells the story of an Iraq War veteran who saves the lives of his assassinated Iraqi interpreter’s widow and child by bringing them to his home in upstate New York. For the soldier, this is a way of making amends for his interpreter’s death. But the widow finds being rescued by the enemy both humiliating and compromising. This is a compassionate tale that examines whether redemption and forgiveness are even possible in the wake of war. Like Benedict’s related novels, Wolf Season and Sand Queen, both of which feature some of the same characters that appear in The Soldier’s House,this book breaks new ground. No novel has yet been written about soldiers rescuing refugees (although many soldiers have) and no other American novelist has written as Benedict has from the point of view of an Iraqi woman. In the light of the increasing influx of refugees from all over the world into the United States, The Soldier’s House is particular timely and poignant.

Advanced Praise

“Keen-eyed and warm-hearted, The Soldier’s House is a page-turning story of both American and Iraqi lives shattered by America’s Iraq War, and the long struggle to rebuild a safe place to call home. Helen Benedict brings years of research to bear in her compassionate, sharply-observed portraits of Army Sergeant Jimmy Donnell; his soldier wife, Kate Brady; and their terrible debt to Naema Al-Jassi, an Iraqi mother, and her captivating young son, Tariq. This moving novel brings to searing life the toll of violence and the balm of healing, as these characters make their halting progress toward finding home, toward trust and truth, and building life anew.  The Soldier’s House is an important novel for our time, adding crucial depth of compassion and complexity to our understanding of war’s trauma and the balm of forgiveness and healing.”
— Kate Manning, author of My Notorious Self, Gilded Mountain 

“An unprecedented breakthrough novel about life after war. Once again Helen Benedict has blazed a trail in this brutal yet compassionate story of deep human perseverance. Compelling and beautifully written, it is one of the most important books Americans could read, not just about the war in Iraq, but about war in general.” 
— Cara Hoffman, author of Running, Be Safe, I Love You and So Much Pretty

“Writing with rare passion and integrity, Helen Benedict brings to light—and life—the wreckage of the American misadventure in Iraq.  This is not only a massively good book, it is absolutely necessary.”
— Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya, author of The Storyteller of Marrakesh and The Watch