The Echoes

The ghost of a woman’s boyfriend attempts to piece together the mysteries of her life, in the elegant latest from Wyld (All the Birds, Singing). The reader first meets Max, who was a London university professor, shortly after his death. The cause is unknown to him, and until now, so was the existence of the afterlife: “I do not believe in ghosts, which, since my death, has become something of a problem,” he wryly notes. His chapters, titled “After,” alternate with “Before” chapters narrated by his bartender girlfriend, Hannah, in which she reveals to the reader that she’s keeping secrets from him, such as a recent abortion, and by third-person “Then” chapters, which delve into Hannah’s childhood in rural Australia and eventually reveal the painful reason why she left that country and refuses to introduce her family to Max. The intricate structure and lyrical language rewards close reading, and Wyld skillfully balances the dark subject matter with moments of levity. This unsettling novel is tough to shake. (Feb.)