The Report by Jessica Francis Kane

The Report

Jessica Francis Kane

This novel explores blame, guilt, and shame and the impact of a tragic accident on a tight knit community. Without sensationalising the real events that happened at the Bethal Green tube station air raid shelter in 1943, the novel seeks to re-examine the events in our current climate of 'blame culture'. This story has vast scope for discussion in a book club.

Extract
'Do you think He was there?'
Mc Neely waited, silently asking God to gather this boy to him.
'If it had been the church, the old crypt, that everyone was trying to get into? Would He have been there?'
'Oh Bert. I don’t think the place would have made a difference. We have to believe God always tries to be with us.'
Parallels
  • A Thread of Gold by Mary Doria Russell
  • Hillborough, the Truth by Phil Scraton