It's summer in a small, Midwestern city, and babies are burning to death in their cribs under odd circumstances. A number of theories are presented by the six narrators of the novel, but the truth of just what is going on is elusive, and it is up to the reader to discover the truth, since one of the underlying issues of the novel is the difference between knowing and believing.
"Report from a Place of Burning is utterly original, but it is also the work of a master of the traditions of storytelling. In language that is exquisite but also precise, George Looney unspools a host of secrets that culminate in a haunting and moving whole. With such vivid and earthly, but also dreamlike, imagery, he invites the reader to experience these accumulating revelations, casting a spel
Laura Kasischke, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award
"Looney's novel introduces Rainier Maria Rilke to Sherwood Anderson, escorts them into our 21st century, and invites them to sing. And sing they do. A gyre of desire and devastation, vision and transfiguration, Report from a Place of Burning dazzles."
Ann Pancake, author of Strange as This Weather Has Been
"Gorgeous. Haunting. Unforgettable. Like every real mystery, Report from a Place of Burning lives on, creating questions and leaving one hungry for answers. Looney's novel smolders with captivating voices, shocking possibilities, and private histories of characters whose heartache, loss, and love are seared behind my eyes."
Aimee Parkison, author of Refrigerated Music for a Gleaming Woman
