Ixelles

In the provocative latest from Anyuru (They Will Drown in Their Mothers’ Tears), a shadowy PR agency takes a novel approach to promoting its clients’ interests. Ruth, a single mother, fled her violent, Muslim-majority neighborhood in Antwerp with her young son, Em, four years after her drug dealer husband, Mio, was murdered. Now, Ruth works as a PR consultant, scheming up personas for actors hired to promote the agendas of her ultrarich clients. One such client hopes to secure approval for a new highway that will demolish Ruth’s old neighborhood. She invents a Yemeni author to mourn the neighborhood’s decline and hires a Jordanian janitor to play him. Her mission becomes complicated after she finds a CD with a recording of what seems to be Mio’s voice in the present, prompting her to wonder if he’s still alive. Anyuru adds elements of suspense, such as the questions of who killed Mio and whether the highway project will go through, but he invests more in atmosphere, evoking a dreamscape of disembodied voices. Patient readers will find much to enjoy. (Oct.)