- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Quercus; First British Edition edition (5 Feb 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1906694044
- ISBN-13: 978-1906694043
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.2 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 427,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
Simply and lucidly composed, splendidly constructed, Brodeck's Report is a magnificent book … above all, on the question of otherness - Le Monde
…an original, brilliant and disturbing book … It is a relentless, uncomfortable book that achieves a beauty of its own through Claudel's deft writing and passionate commitment to truth. Claudel is a novelist of ideas, in the French tradition. He deals skillfully in archetypes and abstractions … a journey that goes to the heart of what it means to be human - The Times.
A superb novel, equal parts Kafkaesque disorientation, Primo Levi's devastating account's of the killing camps, Italo Calvino's post-modern playfulness and Jean Genet's unflinching eye for the sewers through which the blood of our histories must flow' Sunday Business Post.
There are dark shades of Kafka, Camus, and Primo Levi but Claudel's lyricism evokes the deliciousness of life even as he plumbs the depths of intolerance and evil' Financial Times.
A haunting study of isolated communities and the potential for violence lurking in them … a superb example of Philippe Claudel's work' Mail on Sunday.
…an original, brilliant and disturbing book … It is a relentless, uncomfortable book that achieves a beauty of its own through Claudel's deft writing and passionate commitment to truth. Claudel is a novelist of ideas, in the French tradition. He deals skillfully in archetypes and abstractions … a journey that goes to the heart of what it means to be human - The Times.
A superb novel, equal parts Kafkaesque disorientation, Primo Levi's devastating account's of the killing camps, Italo Calvino's post-modern playfulness and Jean Genet's unflinching eye for the sewers through which the blood of our histories must flow' Sunday Business Post.
There are dark shades of Kafka, Camus, and Primo Levi but Claudel's lyricism evokes the deliciousness of life even as he plumbs the depths of intolerance and evil' Financial Times.
A haunting study of isolated communities and the potential for violence lurking in them … a superb example of Philippe Claudel's work' Mail on Sunday.
Product Description
The report that Brodeck is writing into the lynching of an artist, an outsider, a flamboyant Other figure who has deeply disturbed the fragile equilibrium of the town he briefly settled in, becomes a report into the catastrophe of his own life. Brodeck, it seems, himself also an outsider, has lately returned from a concentration camp. In the course of his investigation into the death of the artist, he uncovers the truth about his distant origins, about his having been rounded up when the Germans came to the town, and all that happened to his family when he was gone. This immensely powerful chronicle of a community's fear and loathing of what is strange, what is from the outside, has been hailed as one of the outstanding European novels of the last decade.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
I read Claudel's Grey Souls when it came out here a few years ago and when I saw he'd written another book, I bought it at once. I was not disappointed. This is an astonishing book. It's a fable about the Holocaust, or aspects of the Holocaust but is not like any other novel you've read on the subject. Because the village in which it takes place is never located precisely on a map. because the language might be German but might also not be; because the characters could all have come out of some hideous fairytale; because the language is plain and clear and uncluttered the power of the story is extraordinary. It's also unputdownable. I can't emphasise enough how good it is and I can't think why this author isn't more talked about and better known as a writer. He's very well-known as a movie director but it's his novels that are his greatest achievements in my opinion. Don't miss this one.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
"Grey souls",the first Claudel book which appeared in english, was a revelation. It had something of Simenon's hard novels, but was clearly more lyrical, melancholy, and with "a soul" that envelops the plot. "Broderick's report",Claudel's second book,is possessed by the same beauty, power,and lyricism. Plus strong storytelling. In a way-and despite the fact that the two novels cannot be easily compared- this is a more ambitious book,which combines realism and allegory to great effect
Evil,biggotry,human weakness,brutality,the lure of compromise, fear, are all present in the microcosm of the village, which together with its inhabitants, is essentially the malevolent protagonist of the book. It is in fact in this village that a stranger is lynched. merely because he represents the threat of the unknown-"the other".
Broderick, who is called upon by "the village" to whitewash the crime, dares (despite his terror) to mirror both the crime and the"whole" which is the community itself, bringing out into the open the pettyness and the ruthlessness of those arround him, thus becoming himself a "stranger". Plot, images, atmosphere, characters vivdly drawn, captivating language, make this a magnificent book which both races to an inevitable finalle, but also demands our thoughtfull attention.
Evil,biggotry,human weakness,brutality,the lure of compromise, fear, are all present in the microcosm of the village, which together with its inhabitants, is essentially the malevolent protagonist of the book. It is in fact in this village that a stranger is lynched. merely because he represents the threat of the unknown-"the other".
Broderick, who is called upon by "the village" to whitewash the crime, dares (despite his terror) to mirror both the crime and the"whole" which is the community itself, bringing out into the open the pettyness and the ruthlessness of those arround him, thus becoming himself a "stranger". Plot, images, atmosphere, characters vivdly drawn, captivating language, make this a magnificent book which both races to an inevitable finalle, but also demands our thoughtfull attention.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
I read a review of this in a newspaper and thought it might be interesting. If I could remember which newspaper and who the reviewer was I would thank them personally for a book which has enriched me.
There are actually two reports in parallel; the narrator's discovery of how his neighbours had behaved in the war to each other and to strangers and of who had been involved in his own arrest; and the murder after the war of a stranger, after the narrator had narrowly escaped death for the same "crime". The writing is deliberately vague, as is the location of the village, so the reader cannot see the story in too specific terms; it is applicable to any time, and any place.
The plot is very powerful, and the writing (and translation) of this book help it to stand out. I will be buying other books by Claudel on the strength of this.
There are actually two reports in parallel; the narrator's discovery of how his neighbours had behaved in the war to each other and to strangers and of who had been involved in his own arrest; and the murder after the war of a stranger, after the narrator had narrowly escaped death for the same "crime". The writing is deliberately vague, as is the location of the village, so the reader cannot see the story in too specific terms; it is applicable to any time, and any place.
The plot is very powerful, and the writing (and translation) of this book help it to stand out. I will be buying other books by Claudel on the strength of this.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A haunting masterpiece
It is after the Second World War, but Claudel's descriptions often call to mind a more ancient world of monumental, gnarled villagers; and the way he writes about scenery evokes... Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2010 by Ralph Blumenau
Very moving
Not often the sort to write a review, I feel this book is something special. I highly recommend it. Having read the other reviews, I think they sum it up quite well. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2010 by A. Bennett
Superb Novel of a Chilling Crime in a Small Village
This is absolutely superb. It is the tale of outsiders in an isolated village, and how no matter how many decades an outsider spends in such a village, he will always be an... Read more
Published on 22 Sep 2009 by Feanor
Primo Levi reborn
This new book by Philippe Claudel, not only very well written but also very impressively translated, is a jewel. Frighteningly realistic. Read more
Published on 13 April 2009 by Mr. J. Derwig
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