A disturbing novel that should make all of uncomfortable, as we’re confronted with the ways we harm others through inaction and seek to excuse ourselves. I’m fascinated by stories like this where the non-existent gap between “good people” and “bad people” is made evident. Also interesting commentary on our obsession with true crime.

The Woman Who Fed the Dogs was an intense psychological work that takes the reader inside the mind of someone who at times we feel compassion for and at times we are repulsed by. I thought it was a brave piece, and I can understand why it divides readers so much, especially given that it is based on a real story. I found it a compelling work that really made me question as a reader how I or someone else might act in the same circumstances, with the same background. Of course, many would say they would never do the things Odette does, but that is easy to say when you are not the one in that moment and with those experiences. The book kept me gripped from start to finish as it meandered back and forth between the past and the present, as one's thoughts would be likely to do in such circumstances, making it feel rare and real. Given the subject matter, this is not going to be a story for everyone, so readers should exercise some caution in picking it up, but I am giving it 4.5 stars as I found it a riveting piece of writing.

This is a translated book from Belgium. Based on a real life case that took place there. The main character is a woman who was married to a man who was sexually assualting and killing women. She was believed to have assisted him and was in jail for it. The story is her thinking about their life together, her life growing up with he overbearing mother, and what she endured over the course of their relationship. The writing style felt almost like a stream of consciousness, which worked well in showcasing the mental state of Odette, but I also found her very frustrating. Overall, it was interesting but ultimately didn't provide enough insight for me as to the why of what she did and presented her too much as a hapless victim.

This novel follows Odette, an imprisoned woman preparing for her release who is reflecting on her role as an accomplice to her husband's horrific crimes. I was really intrigued by this premise, especially after reading that it is based on the true story of the wife of a notorious Belgian child murderer and kidnapper. However, I want to say that the ethics of true crime are handled very well here, in my opinion. The crimes are not sensationalised, or really described in detail at all, and it's clear that the author is focused purely on the psychological aspects of this case and how a person becomes 'evil'.

I think controversial or morally grey (or in this case, not-so-grey) protagonists are such an interesting perspective to write a story from. Did I enjoy reading this? In a lot of ways, no. It's graphic, uncomfortable, and disturbing. But being inside the head of such a person as she attempts to explain or justify her part in such horrible crimes is hard to look away from.

It helps that the novel is so well written. The balancing act was done perfectly in my opinion, there were constant little comments or things unsaid that highlighted how disturbed Odette really is even as she's attempting to victimise herself. I finished the book not really understanding what the author hoped to achieve by writing this. But after reflecting, maybe that is the point - there is no easy answer to the difficult and dark questions posed here. It's left up to the reader to decide the limits of their empathy.

The Woman Who Fed The Dogs is being published within World Editions exciting new series, Read the World A-Z - featuring a translated novel for every letter of the alphabet. Thank you to so much to World Editions and netgalley for the eARC!

Kristien Hemmerechts novel, The Woman Who Fed The Dogs, was first published in Belgium in 2014 and has now been translated into English by Paul Vincent. It is being published as the second volume in the series Read the World A to Z being published by World Editions, a project which is looking like it's going to be the highlight of the fiction in translation calendar for some time to come.

The Woman Who Fed The Dogs is not an easy read, nor a comfortable one - it's subject matter is challenging, disturbing and yet all too real. Odette is the most hated woman in Belgium. Wife of the paedophilic murderer M, she is in prison, and telling us the story of what happened and gives us her justification for such heinous crimes of her husband, as well as why she let two children starve to death while her husband was incarcerated. It is also inspired by a true story - a case that shocked Belgium to it's very core - though Hemmerechts changed the name of her principal character.

This will not be a novel for everyone - some will not be able to finish it - it is graphic, unrelenting in its misery and horror - but for me it is the work of fiction to ask questions, to explore the questions of what it is to be human, even if the human or humanity explored is repugnant to us. Hemmerechts doesn't shy away from the difficult questions - and though she doesn't give us answers - we must come to our own conclusions - she asks all the right questions and pushes deeper into this dark psyche and is unflinching in her gaze.

For me The Woman Who Fed The Dogs is essential fiction. It has made me very keen to track down any other fiction from Hemmerechts. She does everything I think fiction should do. I can't believe I have only just discovered her, as she is about to enter her fourth decade as a writer. This is a novel that will live with me, and is a novel that has the power to make us see and know things important - even if we choose to look away. A true powerhouse of a novel, utterly unique and engrossing - and the only time I've felt the need for a cold shower when finishing a novel!

Thank you to World Editions and Netgalley for the ARC.

This book was such a ride. It broke my heart, it disgusted me, it made me furious and tested the limits of my empathy, it made me question so many things. It proves a point that I think socially we still do not understand: women are not saints or sinners, they are people, complex and morally gray at best, as capable of horrible things to survive as anyone.
The author had done a great job at providing us with the story and beliefs of a woman for us to make up our minds on who's guilty and to what extent.
The book made me ask myself about why we consider some people more guilty than others, how do we evaluate guilt when someone has been systematically and greatly abused for years, even decades, how do we reconcile that some people are both victims and perpetrators, is anyone capable of redemption, how we might have avoided these heinous crimes socially, and how can someone be so unattached to basic human emotions (and rules!) and not be caught sooner.
The signs were there: a man ready to live in society does not have his family living in a grovel and himself somewhere else, more comfortable. He does not have them living in poverty when he has money. Not to mention the more difficult to detect and prove violence he inflicted on his partner. But the signs were there for the surrounding people to see; they however chose to not do anything about it. Before a man commits such acts of violence, there are signs. We are just not ready to have that conversation, especially taking into account that there are violent, criminal men who have crossed innumerable moral and legal lines in power currently.
It isn't that we don't know where to look, is that we choose not to care.

Just b second in the a-z around the world the influence of the cover design interested me bold and colourful with the contrast of the ordinary title the prose a wandering of mundaneity shot through with the brilliance of the translated literature and nervous complexity within an intriguing start to a series

Having loved another book from this A to Z series thing, I was confident I would also be amazed by this one. Unfortunately, it didn't end up as I had hoped. I struggled to keep going although the book is only 200-ish pages. The details slipped off from me and I found myself not wanting to pick it up at all. Perhaps it works on somebody else. Such a pity but I didn't enjoy it.

This is such a difficult book to review, as the author offers a thinly fictionalised account of a famous Belgian court case dealing with really dark subjects - coercion, child abuse, paedophilia and child murder. I must admit it was not a case I had ever heard about, but in some parts reminded me of Fred and Rosemary West and the furore in the UK around their crimes and punishments.
Ms Hemmerechts explores the crimes from the POV of Odette, the jailed wife of the convicted murderer, who was accused of aiding and abetting in keeping the victims in a cellar and not taking opportunities to free them. She is reflecting on her past while contemplating her imminent release into the care of the local convent. Whether her thoughts are based on interviews or statements or suggestions from the author is unclear but her propulsive writing style and unflinching eye pulls the reader through the despair and darkness and questions everything. I did feel quite voyeuristic while reading it though and while I found the religious influences and ideas of redemption really interesting I didn't feel that why she went to the Convent was properly explained. I read some background later and noted the huge cost for security which had to be paid by the State and that there was a complete overhaul of the judicial system after the case.
I would like to make mention of the excellent translation.
Thank you to netgalley and world editions for an advance copy of this book.
4 stars for the writing and translation.

This is a disturbing and compelling novel inspired by the real-life case of Michelle Martin, the former wife of Belgian serial killer Marc Dutroux. Rather than focusing on the crimes themselves, Kristien Hemmerechts gives a voice to a woman trying to understand her own actions and her relationship with a deeply disturbing man. What I found most interesting was the refusal to offer easy answers. The narrator is an uncomfortable character to spend time with, and the book constantly raises questions about complicity, responsibility, denial and how far someone can separate themselves from the actions of a person they love. Hemmerechts gets inside her protagonist's mind without asking the reader to excuse her. The subject matter is bleak and at times difficult to read, but the novel is psychologically sharp and thought-provoking as it explores the difference between guilt and responsibility, and about how ordinary people can become entangled in extraordinary evil. An unsettling but memorable read.

A disturbing insight into how the mind of an individual that has committed an atrocity against children may well balance her crimes. This was an interesting take on a known crime with Kristien Hemmerechts taking the POV of a female character and justifying her actions. The use of comparison against another female who had murdered her children was an interesting device. This book is vivid and shocking and makes you consider the thought process of the perpetrator and the lies you’d need to go to live with your own actions. Unflinching and very dark. There is no mercy in this book. The writing style compliments the narrative. Almost mean and visceral in tone.