Angel Down
by Daniel Kraus
★ Top 10 book of 2025 · #10 on Best Books of 2025
Daniel Kraus tells this World War I story as one unbroken sentence. A draft dodger turned army private meets an angel on the battlefield. Atria Books published it in July 2025, and it took the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Best for: Adventurous readers who enjoy experimental style and war-set Pulitzer-winning fiction
Angel Down is #10 on BookWard's Best Books of 2025, out of 30 2025 books that cleared our data bar.
What Angel Down is about
On a battlefield in France during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, late in World War I, a shrieking sound is driving soldiers mad. Major General Reis, more concerned with his own advancement than his men, orders Private First Class Cyril Bagger to find the source. Bagger, a former draft dodger, sets out with four misfit soldiers: innocent young Arno, brutish Popkin, nervous Goodspeed and shell-shocked Veck.
What they find is an angel caught in barbed wire, glowing, and looking to each man like a woman he knows. Fearing Reis will use her to further his career, they desert their post and carry her through artillery fire, bickering all the while as each tries to win her favor so she might grant his own wish. The book is written as one unbroken sentence, a daring form for a story about war, faith and ambition, and it won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Angel Down on the Best Books of 2025
Angel Down came out in 2025. Of the 30 books first published in 2025 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #10 on our Best Books of 2025 list.
Why it made the list: 300 readers have shelved it on Open Library; its Wikipedia page averaged 24,037 views a month recently. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2025 list
- The Court of the Dead Rick Riordan, #8
- Regretting You Colleen Hoover, #9
- Sunrise on the Reaping Suzanne Collins, #11
- The Strength of the Few James Islington, #12
See all Best Books of 2025 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2024.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 5 want to read it, 0 are reading it now and 2 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Wikipedia: its article averaged 24,037 views a month recently.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 90 | 45% |
| Reader love | 67 | 20% |
| Being read right now | 33 | 15% |
| Attention | 90 | 20% |
Questions about Angel Down
When was Angel Down published?
Angel Down by Daniel Kraus was first published in 2025.
Was Angel Down one of the best books of 2025?
Angel Down is #10 on BookWard's Best Books of 2025, out of 30 2025 books that cleared our data bar. 300 readers have shelved it on Open Library; its Wikipedia page averaged 24,037 views a month recently.
Why is Angel Down on the Best Books of 2025 list?
300 readers have shelved it on Open Library; its Wikipedia page averaged 24,037 views a month recently.
More of the best books of 2025
- The Secret of Secrets Dan Brown, #1
- Katabasis R. F. Kuang, #2
- Atmosphere Taylor Jenkins Reid, #3
- Onyx Storm Rebecca Yarros, #4
- If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies Eliezer Yudkowsky, #5
- Wild Dark Shore Charlotte McConaghy, #6
See the full Best Books of 2025, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
Find your own best books
Add what you have read, rate it, and BookWard will recommend what to read next.
Free while in beta. No credit card needed.