In this week’s edition of Endnotes, we take a look at Daniel Kraus’ Angel Down, a vivid tale, composed of a single sentence, about an angel’s appearance on a WWI battlefield. In its review, PW says “Kraus breathes new life into the war novel.”

Here’s how the book came together:

Daniel Kraus

Author

“The absurdist futility of millions of men dying over a few feet of ruined land is a metaphor just wanting to be grabbed. WWI was the dawn of truly mechanized slaughter, and once begun, that’s a self-perpetuating machine that you can’t turn off. It occurred to me that I could emulate that death cycle by writing the book as one sentence that loops back on itself ad infinitum.”

Richard Abate

Literary Agent, 3 Arts

“I’ve represented Dan Kraus for two decades. For Angel Down, Dan pitched the idea to me and I immediately saw it as a brilliant reimagining of WWI with themes around industrial warfare. This was an option book after the publication of Whalefall, and the success of that book made the setting up of this book fairly straightforward.”

Loan Le

Senior Editor, Atria

“Richard called me about Dan’s next big project. There weren’t any pages available—I bought it based on a one-page synopsis. That almost never happens. Usually, we buy after reading a manuscript or, at the very least, a synopsis and sample pages. Never just a one-pager. But I was immediately intrigued—especially by the angel and how that element would shape the story.”

Claire Sullivan

Senior Designer, Atria/S&S

“I was drawn in by the premise of the single take, or sentence, in which the story is told. I felt the cover should be simple but bold and impactful, and I really wanted to juxtapose elements both beautiful and violent. The ethereal glow of the type reflects both the presence of the angel that is central to the story and the question of salvation.”