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lemkegirl's review against another edition
3.0
I was lucky enough to win this advanced copy of the book through firstreads. While it was a quick read for me, that didn't diminish the story at all. I liked the different perspectives from different people and their perspectives as time went on.
Good read, well done.
Good read, well done.
bjr2022's review against another edition
5.0
Like Jessica Francis Kane’s recent book, [b:Rules for Visiting|41880608|Rules for Visiting|Jessica Francis Kane|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543636791l/41880608._SY75_.jpg|65372790], The Report has a controlled energy that slowed my own. In the beginning I stopped reading after each short chapter, not because I wasn’t interested—on the contrary, I was mesmerized—but because I was sated. I needed to metabolize and not think. But as the tension built, I found myself reading beyond satiation, and somehow I handled it.
The Report is the story of the workings of crowds through a horrific historic event. A very different book than Rules for Visiting, yet it shares a motif: both books are essentially reports. The events play out, they are reported, the facts accrue into a story. And the art of this writing makes them into an experience that is hard to explain. But let me try.
The cover of The Report (designed by Kyle G. Hunter) gives a metaphor for what happened to me as a reader, but for the longest time I didn’t even notice it: The picture is a dark AP photo. Whether it is of the actual incident of people in an underground bomb shelter in the East End of London (Bethnal Green) during WWII doesn’t matter. It is what I envisioned. But so subtle that you don’t even see it unless the cover happens to be tilted up so the light hits it in just the right way is typeface superimposed onto the photo—the report of this incident. That is a perfect depiction of Kane’s style.
There is nothing flashy, no sentences you can quote to illustrate poetic beauty, no obvious “writer’s technique.” Nevertheless, the writing enters your psyche, commanding that you slow down and see and feel every detail; I swear my heartbeat synced with something larger that I surmise directs Kane’s writing. Likewise the elegance—a meticulous elegance to every word and sentence—is so understated you might miss it.
I am obsessed with the responsibility of people in crowds and crowd movements, so I love the content of this book. And I love this writing!
The Report is the story of the workings of crowds through a horrific historic event. A very different book than Rules for Visiting, yet it shares a motif: both books are essentially reports. The events play out, they are reported, the facts accrue into a story. And the art of this writing makes them into an experience that is hard to explain. But let me try.
The cover of The Report (designed by Kyle G. Hunter) gives a metaphor for what happened to me as a reader, but for the longest time I didn’t even notice it: The picture is a dark AP photo. Whether it is of the actual incident of people in an underground bomb shelter in the East End of London (Bethnal Green) during WWII doesn’t matter. It is what I envisioned. But so subtle that you don’t even see it unless the cover happens to be tilted up so the light hits it in just the right way is typeface superimposed onto the photo—the report of this incident. That is a perfect depiction of Kane’s style.
There is nothing flashy, no sentences you can quote to illustrate poetic beauty, no obvious “writer’s technique.” Nevertheless, the writing enters your psyche, commanding that you slow down and see and feel every detail; I swear my heartbeat synced with something larger that I surmise directs Kane’s writing. Likewise the elegance—a meticulous elegance to every word and sentence—is so understated you might miss it.
I am obsessed with the responsibility of people in crowds and crowd movements, so I love the content of this book. And I love this writing!
ramonapest's review
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Antisemitism, Death, Child death, and Xenophobia
Minor: Suicide
tanyarobinson's review against another edition
3.0
I had never heard of the tragedy at Bethnal Green, when 173 people were pressed and suffocated as they tried to enter an air raid shelter. I was caught up in the mystery as a magistrate tried to determine what exactly caused the accident, then felt let down when I reached the end and found how much of the story was fiction. I'd give this a 3 1/2 stars were that an option.
kfan's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fictionalized look at an event that really happened. 173 really did die, suddenly and unexpectedly, in a London air raid shelter during WWII. So. With a book like this, where you know Something Bad is going to happen, the question is only: When? The author teases things out, gets us invested in the characters and their lives, making note of tiny little details that might seem important or tragic later, and the suspense is all built up by the reader wondering when when when is this Bad Thing going to happen?
This book is absolutely nothing like that. The Bad Thing happen so fast it's actually shocking. I was like: "Wait, what? It's happening? I'm not ready!" Brilliant, right? True to life. The Bad Thing happens, and we spend the book taking it apart, and seeing what happened to the people afterward. It's a slow fade, rather than a cymbal crash.
The writing is absolutely stunning, and it's remarkable that Kane is able to find little moments of grace and beauty in a story that is so, so, so, so sad. It's brutal. I don't even know how a person writes a story like this. A mother who lost one of her two children in the crush says: "I think I could endure anything. I'm not even scared. If I died I would miss Tilly, but I feel as though I have a child on each side of an abyss now and death would be just crossing over to spend time with the one I haven't seen in a while."
If I can make an odd juxtapositional leap, thematically this book reminded me of Sondheim's Into the Woods. In the midst of a huge and complicated argument about whose fault everything is, the Wicked Witch says: "No, of course, what really matters is the blame. Somebody to blame." That's what the characters in this book are struggling with as well. When Something Bad happens, it needs to be one person's fault, in order for everyone to feel better and start putting the past behind them. But it's never really like that, that never really works. Ultimately, what's the benefit of assigning blame?
Difficult stuff to be wrestling with, and this book does a powerful and amazing job.
This book is absolutely nothing like that. The Bad Thing happen so fast it's actually shocking. I was like: "Wait, what? It's happening? I'm not ready!" Brilliant, right? True to life. The Bad Thing happens, and we spend the book taking it apart, and seeing what happened to the people afterward. It's a slow fade, rather than a cymbal crash.
The writing is absolutely stunning, and it's remarkable that Kane is able to find little moments of grace and beauty in a story that is so, so, so, so sad. It's brutal. I don't even know how a person writes a story like this. A mother who lost one of her two children in the crush says: "I think I could endure anything. I'm not even scared. If I died I would miss Tilly, but I feel as though I have a child on each side of an abyss now and death would be just crossing over to spend time with the one I haven't seen in a while."
If I can make an odd juxtapositional leap, thematically this book reminded me of Sondheim's Into the Woods. In the midst of a huge and complicated argument about whose fault everything is, the Wicked Witch says: "No, of course, what really matters is the blame. Somebody to blame." That's what the characters in this book are struggling with as well. When Something Bad happens, it needs to be one person's fault, in order for everyone to feel better and start putting the past behind them. But it's never really like that, that never really works. Ultimately, what's the benefit of assigning blame?
Difficult stuff to be wrestling with, and this book does a powerful and amazing job.
shimmer's review against another edition
5.0
It's a risky, unexpected move for a novel about a historical tragedy to focus not on the "action" of the event, but rather the bureaucratic reconstruction and presentation of it, but Jessica Francis Kane pulls it off. It's impressive how smoothly The Report balances direct engagement of questions about historical construction, textuality, and authorship with a keen, humane, but never sentimental focus on the lives at stake in how the Bethnal Green tragedy gets remembered.
I've probably made it sound terribly academic with that description, because of how softly the novel's self-awareness lay on the page. There are multiple reminders that this "history" is constructed, fiction rather than fact, but it's always organic to the character's experience rather than didactic authorial insertions. For instance, a character is asked why she has taken up drawing, and replies that,
There are sparrows maimed by bombs but rebuilding their nest, and there's a quilt of the German landscape sewn by many hands all over city so RAF bombers can practice their raids. Whether it's the report and its verdict on the Bethnal Green tragedy, or the nest or the quilt or even the potatoes that seem to be the only available food, this is a novel in which lives and stories are made from both what is available and what is needed. The fact that those things aren't the same for everyone all the time is what makes the story so compelling.
I've probably made it sound terribly academic with that description, because of how softly the novel's self-awareness lay on the page. There are multiple reminders that this "history" is constructed, fiction rather than fact, but it's always organic to the character's experience rather than didactic authorial insertions. For instance, a character is asked why she has taken up drawing, and replies that,
since the bombing had started, people had spent a lot of time saying, "It's unimaginable," but she thought they meant, "I hadn't imagined it before this."
Her blue eyes steady and dry, she said, "I will. I'll draw and remember and I won't be surprised again."
There are sparrows maimed by bombs but rebuilding their nest, and there's a quilt of the German landscape sewn by many hands all over city so RAF bombers can practice their raids. Whether it's the report and its verdict on the Bethnal Green tragedy, or the nest or the quilt or even the potatoes that seem to be the only available food, this is a novel in which lives and stories are made from both what is available and what is needed. The fact that those things aren't the same for everyone all the time is what makes the story so compelling.
sshabein's review against another edition
4.0
Being an American and not really being much of a war history buff, I had not heard of the Bethnal Green tragedy before picking up The Report. I’m sure in certain circles, it is a case of “how can you not know?” but I think people often forget the damage England sustained over the course of World War II. For them, the war was not across the ocean. Though I don’t know from personal experience what this experience would have been like, Kane does a great job of immersing one in the smaller details of wartime sacrifice, without making it seem like a dry history lesson. It is a successful book on many levels, and certainly worth a look.
(Full review appears on Glorified Love Letters.)
(Full review appears on Glorified Love Letters.)
amyvl93's review against another edition
4.0
I first heard about The Report when Jessica Francis Kane was interviewed on the radio, which was also the first time I had heard about the Bethnal Green tragedy; a crush which killed almost 200 people on a night where there wasn't a single bomb dropped on London. My Dad, who is really interested in WWII, bought the book and read it in about two days; and I too raced through it surprisingly quickly.
Essentially, The Report is split in two; bouncing between 1943 and 1973. In 1973, Paul Barber, a young filmmaker, tracks down Laurence Dunne who was in charge of the inquiry to ask him questions; whilst Kane also describes the real events of the tragedy, in addition to exploring the lives of people affected by the disaster; Laurence Dunne himself; Ada, a mother who lost one of her daughters in the crush; Warden Low a warden in charge of the shelter who blames himself for the crush and Bertram Lodge, a young gentleman who feels in someway responsible as he was involved in the crush.
It's not necessarily a traditional novel; there isn't a massive plot driving through it, although we do discover more about the life of Paul Barber and the inquiry itself is certainly interesting when Kane writes would-be exchanges between Dunne and the various witnesses. However, Kane's writing is well-paced and the 250-odd pages fly by quite quickly. It's also really interesting to learn about the lives of the less well-off Londoners during the Second World War; in particular the casual racism towards the refugees from Eastern Europe, namely the Jewish.
The Report is a really interesting, well-paced story of the very human search for an easy explanation in horrible circumstances.
Essentially, The Report is split in two; bouncing between 1943 and 1973. In 1973, Paul Barber, a young filmmaker, tracks down Laurence Dunne who was in charge of the inquiry to ask him questions; whilst Kane also describes the real events of the tragedy, in addition to exploring the lives of people affected by the disaster; Laurence Dunne himself; Ada, a mother who lost one of her daughters in the crush; Warden Low a warden in charge of the shelter who blames himself for the crush and Bertram Lodge, a young gentleman who feels in someway responsible as he was involved in the crush.
It's not necessarily a traditional novel; there isn't a massive plot driving through it, although we do discover more about the life of Paul Barber and the inquiry itself is certainly interesting when Kane writes would-be exchanges between Dunne and the various witnesses. However, Kane's writing is well-paced and the 250-odd pages fly by quite quickly. It's also really interesting to learn about the lives of the less well-off Londoners during the Second World War; in particular the casual racism towards the refugees from Eastern Europe, namely the Jewish.
The Report is a really interesting, well-paced story of the very human search for an easy explanation in horrible circumstances.
louisefbooks96's review
3.0
I found this an interesting yet complex read at times I struggled to get into with the present going back and forth which I normally enjoy except this time - it felt like it was following 5 different plots and 4 different stories within one - which I understand the complex of as it was following how everyone from all walks of lives were affected by the tragedy and the different stages of it from all the writing of it. Being near the east end of London and having my childhood in and around Newham and Essex - I struggled to think why I had not heard more of the Bethnal Green Tube Station disaster and I'm shocked I didn't tbh
balancinghistorybooks's review
2.0
The Report is Jessica Francis Kane’s first novel. It fictionalises the true story of the Bethnal Green disaster during March 1943, in which 173 people were killed when they tried to enter the air raid shelter which had been set up in the tube station.
The Report begins with a section entitled ‘Retrospective’, which is told thirty years after the tragedy occurred. Tilly Barber is the first character which we are introduced to. She is ‘eight years older than the tragedy and remembers it well’. This retrospective narrative mainly focuses upon a television ‘special’ which details the night of the disaster, and the journalist who is interviewing survivors for the programme. The story then moves back in time to 1943, opening in a crowded cinema in Bethnal Green. The retrospective runs concurrently with the main story, a technique which works well in places but gives the book a slightly stilted feel in others.
The third person narrative perspective which Kane has used focuses on different characters in turn. As well as meeting Tilly, the reader is introduced to her mother Ada, father Robby and little sister Emma. There are also brief sections which follow Constables and shelter wardens working in the tube station. At first it seems as though the majority of the characters have nothing to do with one another aside from living in the same geographical area, but as the story progresses it is clear that the disaster brings them all together. Every character has a part to play, if not in the crush itself then in the aftermath. Although the narrative does involve others, it is the Barber family who are most prominent throughout.
The novel itself has been well-researched. Wartime details, such as the removal of all street signs and the strict clothing regulations which the population had to follow, have been woven into the narrative voice. This is a nice touch, particularly as Kane has not used the most obvious facts and figures she could have plucked out of the general consciousness. Instead, it feels as though she has dug deeper, scratching the well-known surface of World War Two’s rules and regulations in order to find statistics that are both fresh and surprising.
Although the narrative style works well in focusing on some of the people affected, Kane’s style of writing makes her focus on various characters seem a little impersonal at times. We as readers are somewhat detached from those involved, particularly with regard to their thoughts and feelings. Unfortunately, the dialogue throughout The Report lets the story down somewhat. The exchanges do not always read as true-to-life conversations, and consequently serve to remove vital three-dimensionality from the characters. Many of them end up lacklustre and rather lifeless as a result.
The report of the novel’s title refers to what was written about the disaster by magistrate Laurence Dunne, following a public inquiry into the tragedy. Although interesting in parts, it feels as though Kane has made far too much of this as an element of the story. No character names have been used for the most part when the inquiry is dealt with, and it is unclear as to who said what in each exchange. This adds another layer of detachment to the story.
The narrative itself does sometimes have a choppy feel about it, merely due to the sheer number of commas used throughout. This makes the book seem a little fragmented at times and it does not flow as well as it could.
The Report would perhaps have been a more heartrending novel had it been told from the first person narrative perspective. This would have built up the emotions of the characters, enabling us as readers to fully grasp and understand what they are going through, rather than merely being detached observers. I also feel that the book would be a far more moving account had it been written as a continuous narrative of the evening, rather than also being looked at in retrospective. The sections which dealt with looking back on the disaster were a little repetitive and really took focus away from the often strong retelling of the tragedy. It is certainly an interesting event to base a novel on, but as an overall novel, it feels as though it is not quite done the justice which it deserves.
The Report begins with a section entitled ‘Retrospective’, which is told thirty years after the tragedy occurred. Tilly Barber is the first character which we are introduced to. She is ‘eight years older than the tragedy and remembers it well’. This retrospective narrative mainly focuses upon a television ‘special’ which details the night of the disaster, and the journalist who is interviewing survivors for the programme. The story then moves back in time to 1943, opening in a crowded cinema in Bethnal Green. The retrospective runs concurrently with the main story, a technique which works well in places but gives the book a slightly stilted feel in others.
The third person narrative perspective which Kane has used focuses on different characters in turn. As well as meeting Tilly, the reader is introduced to her mother Ada, father Robby and little sister Emma. There are also brief sections which follow Constables and shelter wardens working in the tube station. At first it seems as though the majority of the characters have nothing to do with one another aside from living in the same geographical area, but as the story progresses it is clear that the disaster brings them all together. Every character has a part to play, if not in the crush itself then in the aftermath. Although the narrative does involve others, it is the Barber family who are most prominent throughout.
The novel itself has been well-researched. Wartime details, such as the removal of all street signs and the strict clothing regulations which the population had to follow, have been woven into the narrative voice. This is a nice touch, particularly as Kane has not used the most obvious facts and figures she could have plucked out of the general consciousness. Instead, it feels as though she has dug deeper, scratching the well-known surface of World War Two’s rules and regulations in order to find statistics that are both fresh and surprising.
Although the narrative style works well in focusing on some of the people affected, Kane’s style of writing makes her focus on various characters seem a little impersonal at times. We as readers are somewhat detached from those involved, particularly with regard to their thoughts and feelings. Unfortunately, the dialogue throughout The Report lets the story down somewhat. The exchanges do not always read as true-to-life conversations, and consequently serve to remove vital three-dimensionality from the characters. Many of them end up lacklustre and rather lifeless as a result.
The report of the novel’s title refers to what was written about the disaster by magistrate Laurence Dunne, following a public inquiry into the tragedy. Although interesting in parts, it feels as though Kane has made far too much of this as an element of the story. No character names have been used for the most part when the inquiry is dealt with, and it is unclear as to who said what in each exchange. This adds another layer of detachment to the story.
The narrative itself does sometimes have a choppy feel about it, merely due to the sheer number of commas used throughout. This makes the book seem a little fragmented at times and it does not flow as well as it could.
The Report would perhaps have been a more heartrending novel had it been told from the first person narrative perspective. This would have built up the emotions of the characters, enabling us as readers to fully grasp and understand what they are going through, rather than merely being detached observers. I also feel that the book would be a far more moving account had it been written as a continuous narrative of the evening, rather than also being looked at in retrospective. The sections which dealt with looking back on the disaster were a little repetitive and really took focus away from the often strong retelling of the tragedy. It is certainly an interesting event to base a novel on, but as an overall novel, it feels as though it is not quite done the justice which it deserves.
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