Keynote
An evocative reimagining of a World War II civilian disaster
Book Title
The Report
Subtitle
A Novel
Cover Image
- A Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection
Shortlisted for the Center for Fiction’s 2010 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize
Body
On a March night in 1943, on the steps of a London Tube station, 173 people die in a crowd seeking shelter from another air raid. When the devastated neighborhood demands a report, the job falls to magistrate Laurence Dunne.
In this beautifully crafted novel, Jessica Francis Kane paints a vivid portrait of London at war. As Dunne investigates, he finds the truth to be precarious, even damaging. When he is forced to reflect several decades later, Dunne must consider whether he chose the right course. The Report is a compelling commentary on the way all tragedies are remembered.
In this beautifully crafted novel, Jessica Francis Kane paints a vivid portrait of London at war. As Dunne investigates, he finds the truth to be precarious, even damaging. When he is forced to reflect several decades later, Dunne must consider whether he chose the right course. The Report is a compelling commentary on the way all tragedies are remembered.
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About the Author
Credit: Nina Subin
Praise
- “The Report is unflinching even as it is generous. It’s also a page-turner, skillfully deploying a new fact or a different perspective about the disaster, propelling the narrative. As our curiosity mounts about the truth of what really happened that night, Kane keeps alive the question of how much truth any person—or any society—can handle.”—Oscar Villalon, NPR.org, “Books We Like”
- “A well-paced, flowing, accumulating novel. . . . A subtle meditation on memory and inquiry, family, reckoning, and yes, truth.”—McSweeney’s Recommends
- “In The Report, Kane out-Franzens Franzen in her ability to create a compelling, traditional narrative. . . . Kane’s deft characterizations, ambient acuity, and ruthless depiction of human collateral blew me away.”—Boston Phoenix
- “Meticulous in its detail and devastating in its quiet precision, The Report is, like the pamphlet that inspired it, short, heartbreaking and nothing less than perfect.”—Newsday
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
This book is made possible, in part, through the Jerome Foundation, which supports new works by emerging artists in New York City and Minnesota, and by the generosity of Graywolf Press donors like you.
