Book dossier

Jane

by Maggie Nelson, Michael Muhammad Knight

"In Jane, Maggie Nelson explores the life of her aunt, long assumed to be the third victim in a series of brutal rape-murders near the University of Michigan in the late 1960s. Born a few years later, Nelson never met her mother's sister, though she always felt drawn to her in ways she couldn't quite explain. At the age of twenty-three (the same age as Jane at the time of her murder), Nelson experienced a disturbing series of recurring dreams that deepened her interest in her aunt's life and death. Her exploration of the "case" began in earnest soon afterward, when she discovered Jane's diary and a loose sheaf of journal pages. As she learned more about who Jane had been, Nelson decided to finish the story her aunt never lived to tell. In doing so, she created an innovative hybrid form which is as driven as it is lyrical, and which boldly relates a harrowing, moving story that is - and is not - her own."--Jacket.