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The Woman Who Fed the Dogs by Kristien Hemmerechts. Translated by Paul Vincent. World Editions. 2026.
Reviewed by Tom Bowden
Odette is eager to leave her mother’s home. When she meets M, who is equally eager to take her on, she finds herself unwittingly entering the life of another dangerous control freak. To some extent, this is all too predictable: Both Odette and M are second-generation domestic abusees. Coming together, they compound and complicate their pasts, reproducing and visiting upon their children the faults they had and add some extra, just for them.
M is impulsive, unemployed and unemployable, without skill or aptitude, incapable or unwilling to plan ahead or plan out, whether that’s making household improvements to a leaky roof or digging a basement to store underage girls for use in the filming of child pornography. Unsurprisingly, he is unpredictably brutal and violent, self-important without self-respect, decency, honesty, or willingness to take responsibility for his actions. That’s what Odette is for: She takes the blame – and punishment – for his perpetual unease, which only worsens over time, as do his stints in jail.
Odette lives in isolation in a secluded residence, and her mother remains largely indifferent to her plight. Call it resentment: Fifteen years earlier, Odette was the one, at just ten years old, to abandon her mother in the wake of her father’s death. The result? Odette lives in perpetual, untethered fear. She is in no shape to take on work outside of the house (which M would never have allowed), and has only scraps of money reluctantly and angrily given to her by M to feed and clothe the children and pay the bills.
Needless to say, no good will come of this. The book begins with Odette’s reflections during the days leading up to her release from prison, having served 16 years for her complicity in the murder of four young girls. Hated for her crime, a nun has offered Odette the safe harbor of a convent after her release.
Belgian author Kristien Hemmerechts – whose subtle prose rhythms are naturally conveyed by translator Paul Vincent – gives her readers the provocative satisfaction of a deftly controlled narrative: Between Odette’s personal reports and those of eyewitnesses and the press, ambiguity reigns. Sure, Odette was frightened. Certainly, she felt helpless. And in many ways she was. But her denial of having any part in the girls’ death seems increasingly likely to be a line drawn in the sand only retrospectively. She was merely a mother trying to do what was in the best interests of her own children.
The Woman Who Fed the Dogs is the second entry in a new series from World Editions, “Read the World A to Z.” The series will consist of twenty-six books by twenty-six authors from countries whose names begin with the letters of the alphabet. The first installment contains books from Argentina (All that Dies in April), Belgium (The Woman Who Fed the Dogs), and China (Cocoon). Three additional titles will be released each publishing season.
Tom Bowden reviews literature and poetry in translation, with emphasis on classical and contemporary works from mainland China. His monthly review column may be found at The Book Beat.