Returning Home After War: Representations of Romanian Veterans in a Contemporary War Novel (Schije/Shrapnel)

Abstract

Military homecoming is commonly viewed as a distressing experience. However, the novel Schije (Shrapnel, in English) tells a Romanian paratrooper's (Toma) positive story of returning home from the war in Afghanistan (2001-2021). By exploring spaces, emotions, and relationships that help Toma to recover, this article makes a two-fold contribution to the existing literature. Firstly, it shows that homes play a restorative role in veterans’ life. Secondly, the experiences of Romanian veterans and their families illustrate the changing nature of civil-military relations in Romania after 1989, thereby shedding light on the intersections of neoliberalism, postsocialism, and militarism in contemporary warfare. Overall, this article deepens and broadens the role of cultural representations in shaping understandings of war, military service, and veterans.