Narrowly

When the lines between guilt and innocence are thin, an abduction leads to a rare second chance. After her baby’ s cot death, Anne is in radical denial, burying the secret. In a numb reflex, she steals a child to replace hers, instinctive enough to dodge suspicion. Anne looks after the new boy very well, keeping him out of sight until his looks have changed, so the police and media are helpless. Nomi is a normal, happy Mom when her baby goes missing during a minute’ s absence. Her bad conscience is countered by the ravishing frankness of daughter Dilli, aged four. The lives of culprit and victim intertwine, followed by us closely. Before the mothers may meet, our judgments and sympathies are tested sharply. Narrowly shows a baffling closeness between ‘ mad’ and ‘ normal’ .

Arno Bohlmeijer is a novelist and poet, writing in English and Dutch, the winner of a PEN America Grant 2021, featured in dozens of Journals and Reviews. At age 14, he was admitted to the Scapino School of Dance, but he chose to study languages, with jobs in Wales, France, and London, going on to write and be published in six countries. All his life as a very human being and writer, he’ s been called “ different” . As a good thing?