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Sacha Bronwasser, trans. from the Dutch by David Colmer. Viking, $18 trade paper (240p) ISBN 978-0-14-313846-4
Characters collide, bombs explode, and lives shatter in Dutch art critic Bronwasser’s arresting and kaleidoscopic English debut, narrated by a middle-aged woman named Marie. At the heart of the novel is her intense relationship with charismatic photography professor Flo da Silva, whom Marie met as a 19-year-old college student in the Netherlands and fell out with after a catastrophic betrayal. Before diving into the details of what went wrong, Marie flashes forward to recall her time working as an au pair for Phillip Lambert, a largely unremarkable bourgeois Parisian patriarch—save for his strange psychic gifts—whom Marie meets after things end badly with Flo. Eventually, Bronwasser’s sinuous narratives converge in contemporary Paris, leading to a (literally) explosive denouement. When it comes to genre necessities like heightening suspense and converting unanswered questions into narrative momentum, Bronwasser delivers the goods, but her approach can feel roundabout, even leisurely, as she trains her eye on larger questions about power disparities, the ethics of contemporary art, and the nature of fate. Dubious readers, rest assured: everything comes together perfectly, like Paris’s 12 avenues intersecting at the Arc de Triomphe. Cannily constructed and gracefully written, this thought-provoking literary thriller offers a charcuterie board’s worth of rewards. (Nov.)
Details
Reviewed on: 07/25/2025
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Paperback - 240 pages - 978-0-7352-4997-4