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La mort en écho*
Barbara Abel

Le masque • 2006

Sophie Colpaert
Translation: Jean Burrell

 

Manon Lizieux is a young 26-year-old woman just like so many others. A live-in boyfriend, busy days at work and a flat that is nice but a bit small for a child. But a child is what Manon would like. However the little one is taking its time coming and its absence is starting to undermine her relationship with Théo. Then their building is turned upside down by the arrival of a new tenant, Nino Darmont. The solitary old man stares hard at Manon the first time he sees her and she hates it. Théo, who did not know his father, immediately makes friends with the neighbour and gradually rituals creep in, such as the daily fifteen-minute chat in the evening over a glass of port. Manon does not like the visits but shutting the old man out would inevitably cause the latest in a series of scenes with Théo. One evening, when the atmosphere is tense, the old man turns up once again. Manon slams the door to stop him coming in and breaks his ankle. So she is forced to agree to the disabled Darmont staying in their little flat, Darmont who wakes in the night and needs special meals because of his dodgy false teeth.

After yet another row, partly provoked by Darmont, Théo takes off, slamming the door behind him. Exasperated Manon bawls out Darmont, who also limps off promising to come back with a big surprise. Some hours later the police arrive to inform Manon her mother has died in a car accident, together with an unidentified man. Among the dead woman's possessions Manon discovers the piece of jewellery that Darmont always wore pinned to the lapel of his jacket. What connection can there be between her mother and the invasive neighbour? The answer is hidden beneath three generations of silence, crimes and lies.

In the fourth novel by the Belgian author we find her favourite themes: the couple, the family, motherhood. Once again women have the terrible role of life-givers and death-dealers for those around them, both children and partners. The narrative is distributed among the novel's various characters, who relate the story one after the other in different forms, narrative, diary, letter. These short, varied chapters give the book a certain nervous energy which does not allow digression. An entertaining read that will give pleasure to lovers of psychological thrillers.

* Death Says the Echo