Bloomland

Author: Englehardt, John

Fiction & related items

Published on 26 September 2019 by Dzanc Books in the United States.

Winner of the Dzanc Books Prize for FictionWinner of the VCU Cabell First Novel AwardA Kirkus Best Books of 2019 pickAn Indies Introduce pickA September Indie Next pick'Hugely important, hauntingly brutal-Englehardt has just announced himself as one of America's most talented emerging writers.' -Kirkus starred reviewBloomland opens during finals week at a fictional southern university, when a student walks into the library with his roommate's semi-automatic rifle and opens fire. When he stops shooting, twelve people are dead.

In this richly textured debut, John Englehardt explores how the origin and aftermath of the shooting impacts the lives of three characters: a disillusioned student, a grieving professor, and a young man whose valuation of fear and disconnection funnels him into the role of the aggressor. As the community wrestles with the fallout, Bloomland interrogates social and cultural dysfunction in a nation where mass violence has become all too familiar.

Profound and deeply nuanced, Bloomland is a dazzling debut for fans of Denis Johnson and We Need to Talk About Kevin.