For Rouenna
From the National Book Award-winning author of The Friend, one of the most celebrated novelists of her generation, the story of a woman's experiences of war and an unusual friendship
'Resonant and provocative' VOGUE
'One of my favourite authors' NATALIE PORTMAN
I did not remember a Rouenna Zycinski. I was sure I had never known her. But many years ago, according to her letter, we had been neighbors in the same public housing project, on Staten Island.
A writer receives a letter from an old acquaintance, recalling their shared childhood and asking if they can meet. Though fascinated by the stories Rouenna tells about her life as a combat nurse in Vietnam, the narrator flatly declines her request that they collaborate on a memoir.
It is only later, in the aftermath of Rouenna's shocking death, that the narrator is drawn to write about her friend - and her friend's war. Writing Rouenna's story becomes all-consuming: at once a necessity and the only consolation.
'For Rouenna is about everything: war and remembrance, how we invent our "selves" and why; why we kill ourselves - or live. I was dazzled by this book' WASHINGTON POST
'Beautifully written . . . mesmerizing . . . enthralling' O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE
'An entirely different kind of war novel . . . What emerges is something that feels like truth' SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
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Publishing has a diversity problem. There are less 'diverse' books being published which limits the discoverability and reach of those authors.
Representation is important. Read more about why we exist here.
An anti-racist social enterprise bookstore specialising in BIPOC books.
Only about 11% of books published are by BIPOC authors — so unless you specifically seek out books by BIPOC authors, you aren't likely to find very many of them organically. At Amplify, BIPOC authors are highlighted and celebrated. Here, they don't have to fight to be seen, and you don't have to fight to find them.
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