The republic for boys

W. David Hibler
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:46:14 PDT

This hybrid work of fiction aims to relieve the tension of epiphany from the Short Story while restoring the aura of retelling or re-seeing to the Novel. The book examines a disastrous event at Sam Kinley Republic for Boys, a facility for adjudicated youth in upstate New York. The first six sections each follow a different character, and each is set in the hours leading up to the incident. While some of these stories extend into the night and the subsequent morning, only the final section considers what might be termed 'the aftermath.' The disaster affects the different characters in different ways. Each character is in the midst of some conflict. The conflicts range from relationship troubles, to medical conditions, to career shortcomings, and in all cases these conflicts are foremost in the characters' minds. Each section evolves as these conflicts compete for attention with the disaster itself. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose. Sometimes the competing conflicts work to resolve each other. These resolutions are not always productive.