Critics in Conversation is a new “podcast on the page” feature in which contributors discuss a book or issue currently making headlines in the literary world.
Literary prizes aren’t like sports—it would be a mis-categorization to call a novel winning the Pulitzer an “upset.” But friends, we are here to tell you that Daniel Kraus’s Angel Down—a speculative, one-sentence novel about World War I soldiers who find an angel on the battlefield—winning the Pulitzer is, if not a massive upset, then at least one of the more unlikely winners in the history of the prize.
(We highly recommend reading Rebecca Makkai’s Substack on how literary prizes are chosen—Rebecca was the chair of this year’s Pulitzer jury.)
Our contributor Rowan Beaird interviewed Kraus last summer when the novel was published. If you’re new to the novel, that interview provides some wonderful context about Kraus’s inspiration for the book and just how he pulled it off.
But after its ground-breaking Pulitzer win, we think it’s worth revisiting. CHIRB Editor-In-Chief Michael Welch read the novel before the Pulitzer win and Daily Editor Greg Zimmerman read it after. In the following conversation, the two discuss the implications of such a seemingly out-of-the-blue win, why Angel Down is a singular reading experience, and why all novels should maybe be one sentence (or not).
Greg Zimmerman: First, I have to thank you for recommending this. I promise, I had planned to read it even before the Pulitzer announcement BECAUSE you’d recommended it. It just took the Pulitzer announcement for me to get my ass in gear. After Angel Down won, you told me you’d spent some time looking back at past Pulitzer winners, and came to the conclusion that Angel Down was a truly unique selection. Can you explain what you mean by that?
Michael Welch: Glad to see it only took the award news for you to finally take my recommendation (I’m kidding…mostly)! I’m always pretty fascinated by awards as historical markers and a look into the literary establishment’s tastes in any particular moment, even though I recognize that often comes with its own complications. The last 10 or so years of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners feature a who’s who of Literature with a giant capital L: Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, Richard Powers’s The Overstory, Louise Erdrich’s The Night Watchman, and so on. I love a number of these books, but there’s certainly a trend line of what is and is not a “Pulitzer Prize novel.” Angel Down explodes so many of these conventions. It’s written in a single unbroken sentence, is unabashedly violent, and it weaves together fantasy, body horror, and thriller elements to turn the traditional war novel on its head. It could only have been written by an author like Daniel Kraus, who has his feet in a number of different worlds through his work in horror and film with directors like Guillermo del Toro and George A. Romero. I think this win reflects what we see in all areas of art and culture right now: A deep interest in blending genres, a rupture in the boundaries between the surreal and the real, and a renewed freeness when it comes to where our influences can come from.
But publishing is notoriously not like film or television. It’s often slower to change and frustratingly stratified. That’s why Angel Down winning the Pulitzer feels not only so fresh, but dare I say revolutionary.
Greg Zimmerman: That’s so well said! It’s true, publishing moves slowly, and isn’t at all nimble at adapting to prevailing winds. But you know what does move the trend needle? Sales! There’s no question this novel will get a beautiful second life now because of the award. The publisher Atria Books even moved the paperback release date up several weeks and slapped the big “Winner of the Pulitzer Prize” sticker on the cover.
I don’t want to get bogged down in a discussion of art vs. commerce here but for the reasons you mentioned—it’s a war novel, it’s has elements of horror and scifi, it’s a single goddamn sentence (though that’s a little misleading)—this had to be an excruciatingly difficult book to market. As a bookseller, I’m still not sure what type of reader I’d handsell this to. But to the reader who “just wants a really good book,” and for whom the Pulitzer is a stamp of accreditation, I can, now having read it, hand them this book with a clear conscience, and say “Gird your loins, friend. You’re in for a wild and spectacular ride.”
Let’s talk about that spectacular ride. Since you read this before I did, and loved it before the Pulitzer stamp of approval, what specifically about it made you an evangelist for it?
Michael Welch: When I first read it, I had been feeling like it had been a long time since I read a book that fully engrossed me. I keep a running list of scenes that imprint on me (the basement scene in The Road and the buried alive scene in A Brief History of Seven Killings are right up there), and within the first 50 pages there were already multiple moments that I knew would haunt me. It may be one of the most visceral reading experiences I’ve ever had; the book is so acid-touched and cold in its violence and yet oddly beautiful and sweet at its deepest core. And not to spoil anything, but once I reached the last third of the book when the fantasy elements really take center stage, I just kept thinking “how the hell did he write this,” which is the feeling I’m always chasing as a writer and reader.
I’d love to hear more about your reading experience! I know you were a bit hesitant to the one sentence structure when I described it to you, so how did it work for you in practice?
Greg Zimmerman: I also spent most of the novel marveling at how he was pulling this off. And then the last third just exploded all of my expectations for what I thought was coming… over even what I thought would be possible.
So the one-sentence thing: It’s not an obstacle to readability AT ALL. You learn about two pages in that though technically there are no periods, there are plenty of breaks. The book really is just so engaging and readable. Even when there are these scenes of unspeakable violence—hell, when we meet our protagonist Cyril Bagger in the first few pages, he’s survived a bomb, but has someone else’s blown-off ear stuck to his face!—they’re so beautifully crafted. And yes, so visceral. You’re a weird mix of shocked, horrified, and entertained…like watching a clown fall down the stairs.
One of things I really loved about the novel is how each character interpreted the angel differently—both who she actually is and what her powers to benefit them individually might be. This is such a neat trick to allow Kraus to describe such a wide swath of the dark sides of humanity, even beyond the ghastliness of the war itself. And ultimately, this novel is sort of intended as a cautionary tale, isn’t it? That the war to end all wars was actually the war to begin all wars.
Michael Welch: I think that’s the mark of a generational book. Obviously, this is a historical novel about World War I, but its message can be expanded to every conflict since then, because ultimately Angel Down is an exploration of the unending cycle of war and the ways in which our human nature and world is built upon violence. That’s a universal and timeless story.
So, to wrap it up, what do you think the lasting legacy of this book’s monumental prize win will be? What does it mean for the Pulitzer Prize and other major prizes moving forward? For literature overall?
Greg Zimmerman: I remember when Stephen King won an award from the National Book Foundation for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (I had to look up when this happened…it was 2003…really dating myself!), and stuffy literary critic Harold Bloom damn near lost his mind that a so-called genre writer would win a big important literary award. But most people were like, “Shut up, Harold.” I think that whole episode was the genesis of an important shift toward letting genre fiction be part of a much larger conversation about literature.
Sure, it’s 23 years later, but Angel Down winning the Pulitzer is another example of this shift; another milestone on that long journey. It’s been said many ways, but these days it’s truer than ever: Genre is nothing more than a way to help readers find books in the bookstore.
What do you think? What is Angel Down’s Pulitzer win legacy?
Michael Welch: My hope is that we can continue to see an opening up of what kinds of stories get recognized…and more stories that get published overall. I’d love to see award shortlists that include the best examples of literary realism, horror, sci-fi, you name it. We need books that reflect our terrifying, strange, and beautiful world, whether that be through realistic depictions of the world as it is or the surreal imaginings of what it could be. Hopefully there’s more exciting award announcements to come!
Also, Daniel Kraus is an Evanston native, which in my book counts as a win for all of Chicagoland.
FICTION
Angel Down
Daniel Kraus
Atria Books
Published in Paperback: May 12, 2026
