Winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2010
A murder investigation in post-war France becomes an exploration of the legacy of German occupation.
From his village in post-war France, Brodeck makes his solitary journeys into the mountains to collect data on the natural environment. Day by day he also reconstructs his own life, all but lost in the years he spent in a camp during the war. No-one had expected to see him again.
One day, a flamboyant stranger rides into the village, upsetting the fragile balance of everyday life. Soon he is named the Anderer, “the other”, and tensions rise until, one night, the newcomer is murdered. Brodeck is instructed to write an account of the events leading to his death, but his report delivers much more than the bare facts: it becomes the story of a community coming to terms with the legacy of enemy occupation.
In a powerful narrative of exceptional fascination, Brodeck’s Report explores the very limits of humanity.
A murder investigation in post-war France becomes an exploration of the legacy of German occupation.
From his village in post-war France, Brodeck makes his solitary journeys into the mountains to collect data on the natural environment. Day by day he also reconstructs his own life, all but lost in the years he spent in a camp during the war. No-one had expected to see him again.
One day, a flamboyant stranger rides into the village, upsetting the fragile balance of everyday life. Soon he is named the Anderer, “the other”, and tensions rise until, one night, the newcomer is murdered. Brodeck is instructed to write an account of the events leading to his death, but his report delivers much more than the bare facts: it becomes the story of a community coming to terms with the legacy of enemy occupation.
In a powerful narrative of exceptional fascination, Brodeck’s Report explores the very limits of humanity.
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Reviews
'A magnificent book' Le Monde.
'This triumph of a book serves as an unsettling reminder that there are no fairy tales and there are certainly no heroes' Buzz.
'This extraordinary novel … deeply wise and classically beautiful … is a modern masterpiece' Helen Brown, Daily Telegraph.
'The novel's quiet beauty and scenes of extreme poignancy make it resonate beyond its pages' Daily Telegraph.
'The novel transforms modern history into a fable that merges Kafka and the Grimms' Boyd Tonkin, Independent.
'Original, brilliant and disturbing... a journey that goes to the heart of what it means to be human' Ruth Scurr, the Times.