At the background of this novel is a fictional South American dictatorship - don’t worry, it could be any fascist state on any continent. The government is corrupt, brutal and failing. The church is cynical and compromised. The people are downtrodden and frightened. The resistance – there is always resistance – is struggling against apparently insuperable odds.
Alejandro is well placed to play the hero in this political thriller. A musician who has endured a decade of political imprisonment, who has faced torture, whose friends are dead; on his release, haunted by the past, he is co-opted by the resistance; he attracts the affection of Beatriz, a beautiful middle-class woman who is escaping an oppressive marriage; he is searching for the lost daughter of old friends who were murdered before his imprisonment; he is caught up in game-changing acts of resistance. We are ready to root for him as he challenges the oppressive junta - and if he cannot defeat them we are ready to watch him nobly sacrifice himself for the cause. Just let him be brave, let him inspire us.
There is heroism in this book, certainly – around the edges. In the face of oppression there is always heroism. The supporting cast is sometimes inspiring, and at the climax of the book there is even a single, tragic, desperate act of sacrifice. But this is Bob van Laerhoven, not an episode from a comic book. This author does not do heroism the easy, reassuring way you want it. The leadership of the resistance is frayed, foolhardy, unwise. Victims do not always choose to be rescued. And though Alejandro is charismatic, enigmatic, instantly attractive, he is also profoundly flawed.
He is not a bad man. In a world of intolerable oppression, he has an ordinary level of decency, which is not much. He has an ordinary level of courage, which perhaps is less. He is a troubling, uneasy Everyman. His betrayals are small at first - but at every turn, he makes the wrong decision. History catches up with him, but so does his own weakness. By the end, he has betrayed himself. He has betrayed everyone.
From moment to moment the book is a page-turner. There is plenty of action, suspense, danger. Intrigue. Secrets. There is even a love story, of a sort. But deep down this is a slow burn that gradually strips the reader of all easy platitudes. Bob van Laerhoven’s honesty about the human condition is sometimes hard to bear. Yet you have to read on, if only because the writing is mesmerising. Bob Van Laerhoven writes more beautifully than any author I know. Even in translation, even writing about the darkest places of the human soul, his writing is luminous.
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About the author
An intense suspense novel
The Flemish/Belgian author Bob Van Laerhoven surprises with a literary, political thriller mixed with a poignant love drama. The story takes place in Terreno, a fictitious Latin-American country in the eighties. At first, I wondered why Laerhoven had chosen a non-existent country. But the further into the story I got, the better I understood his choice: “Alejandro’s Lie” is, in fact, a sharp analysis of the mechanisms that govern a dictatorship. This analysis, slyly intertwined with a relentlessly suspenseful storyline and an enticing eighties vibe, is of all times. Although set around 40 years ago, “Alejandro’s Lie” is in sync with the current atmosphere in many autocracies. Laerhoven uses his poetic literary style effectively. His characters are well-rounded and surprise the reader at key points of the story where a choice or a decision has life-altering consequences. The fiery love story in the book is loaded with guilt and fear, and ends in a heartbreaking sacrifice. But above all, “Alejandro’s Lie” is an intense suspense novel: the voltage continues to rise with each page. I wholeheartedly give this impressive novel five stars, but with a note of caution: “Alejandro’s Lie” is not a light read and demands the reader’s attention.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2021
- Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2021
The Flemish/Belgian author Bob Van Laerhoven surprises with a literary, political thriller mixed with a poignant love drama. The story takes place in Terreno, a fictitious Latin-American country in the eighties. At first, I wondered why Laerhoven had chosen a non-existent country. But the further into the story I got, the better I understood his choice: “Alejandro’s Lie” is, in fact, a sharp analysis of the mechanisms that govern a dictatorship. This analysis, slyly intertwined with a relentlessly suspenseful storyline and an enticing eighties vibe, is of all times. Although set around 40 years ago, “Alejandro’s Lie” is in sync with the current atmosphere in many autocracies. Laerhoven uses his poetic literary style effectively. His characters are well-rounded and surprise the reader at key points of the story where a choice or a decision has life-altering consequences. The fiery love story in the book is loaded with guilt and fear, and ends in a heartbreaking sacrifice. But above all, “Alejandro’s Lie” is an intense suspense novel: the voltage continues to rise with each page. I wholeheartedly give this impressive novel five stars, but with a note of caution: “Alejandro’s Lie” is not a light read and demands the reader’s attention.
Images in this review
- Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2021
Top reviews from other countries
- helen huangReviewed in Australia on February 16, 2022
A well-crafted political thriller
- DJCReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2021
Exquisitely dark and truthful
