Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

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New York Times Bestseller Now a Major Motion Picture “Brilliantly done . . . grand, intimate, and joyous.” —New York Times Book Review “Mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters: read this giant-hearted novel.” —MARIA SEMPLE, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette Three minutes and forty-three seconds of intense combat with Iraqi insurgents—captured on tape by an embedded Fox News crew—has turned the eight surviving members of Bravo Squad into America’s most celebrated heroes. They embark on a media-heavy nationwide tour to rekindle public support for the war. On a rainy Thanksgiving Day, the Bravos find themselves as guests of a Dallas football team, participating in the halftime show. Among them is nineteen-year-old Specialist Billy Lynn, who navigates a world filled with flag-waving patriots, a wealthy team owner, a born-again cheerleader, a Hollywood producer, and eager football players seeking a taste of war. Throughout this day, Billy experiences drinking and brawling, longing for home, mourning the absent, and confronting a heart-wrenching choice. He ultimately discovers profound love and a bittersweet wisdom that transcends his years. Poignant, riotously funny, and heartbreakingly exquisite, this novel solidifies Ben Fountain’s status as one of the finest writers of his generation.