Brussels Noir

Brussels, Belgium’s cosmopolitan, multilingual capital, has it criminal underside, as shown in the 13 dark—and sometimes darkly humorous—stories in this strong Akashic noir volume. In Barbara Abel’s “The Parakeet,” a 19-year-old student from England confounds the wife of the family he’s boarding with when he bonds with her husband, rather than their 18-year-old son, with disastrous results. Katia Lanero Zamora’s “Daedalus,” a nightmarish tale of a commuter caught in a dilemma involving protestors, her boss, and a power shutdown, is positively Kafkaesque. Kenan Görgün’s poignant, philosophical “Ritual: Diary of Flesh and Faith” describes the Feast of the Sacrifice, a religious festival, and one Muslim family’s unique practice. A young woman patiently plans apposite vengeance in Émile de Béco’s “In the Shadow of the Tower.” Other entries, just as varied, reflect the many facets of life among the Bruxellois. (Aug.)