The Circle: A Brussels Anthology ed. by Patrick ten Brink (review)

The Circle might come as a surprise to anyone who sees Brussels as a city of bureaucracy and Eurocrats. This anthology, edited by Patrick ten Brink, is the brainchild of thirty-four emerging authors from nineteen countries, living in the capital of the European Union. Over fifty contributions contain some real gems. Short film scripts, non-fiction pieces, fairy tales and poems are united in their unique portrayal of the surreal aspect of Brussels exploring different dimensions of the human condition.

The anthology opens with Andreas Bergsten's "Poetic license by Gilbert Jones." This amusing short story evolves around revenge building on writers' shortcomings. "So, this was it. I was leaving Brussels, hopefully never to return. Twelve dull years of pointless work, fickle friends, and fries with mayo."

Colin Walsh's "The Flare Carves Itself Through the Dark," which won the RTÉ Radio 1 Francis MacManus Short Story Prize in 2017, is an outstanding snippet out of the life of a young man in suburban Ireland. He is caught between today's mundane reality and the promise of a better future just around the corner: "Absolute melter of a summer that year. The air throbbed, everything solid dilating. Shirtless lads with see-sawing shoulders glowered with 99s dribbling over their knuckles while the young wans glistened in the shade, makeup warping in the heat."

The picture of Brussels painted by The Circle is one of life hidden to the naked eye, yet bursting with creativity. Genevieve Shapiro's "Santa's Bells" introduces fresh elements to a classic Christmas story. There's a family dinner, there are Christmas presents and songs as well as secrets. For the first time, the son's girlfriend is coming to visit. "Her skin was paper-white. Her eyes were icy pale. She looked beautifully dead."

"St. Roman the Melodist" by Lida Papasokrati is a modern tale that intertwines mythology with the everyday and breathes life into a mischievous saint, who loves to eavesdrop on the practicing of the school orchestra.

Ten minutes into rehearsal St. Roman gets bored. He tampers with the metronome, confusing everyone as the tempo goes from turtle slow to lightning fast. He opens the window wide so that a draft blows everyone's sheet music and they have to spend ten minutes putting the pages back in order.

In contrast, Martin Jones's "Shimmer" is a chilling short story that fuses the historical with the supernatural. What happens if a mirror catches the soul of someone who's responsible for destroying millions of lives?

He took a deep breath. Calm yourself. It was nothing. Just your imagination. But despite himself, he felt badly frightened. Over the road, he saw his tram. Dashing across the road, and nearly being run over, he jumped on board just as it was pulling away.

Quite a few pieces draw from real life. Patrick ten Brink's poem and touching short story are inspired by mysterious, peeled half-apples that start appearing on the street: "The bell chimes on the door as I leave, the apple in my right hand. I don't look back, but feel that the woman and her son are watching me."

While generous with light and humorous everyday topics, The Circle also respectfully takes on complicated and controversial issues like terrorism, race, religion, diversity and grief across five emerging themes: terrorism, travel and immigration, life, love, and loss.

T. D. Arkenberg's "Aftershock" tackles the tragic terrorism in Brussels that has marked our times, exploring the issue of race, religion and expectations of terrorism, with a twist. Dimitris Politis' "The Extraordinary Colours of an Ordinary Day," presents an underground traveler's fateful morning when a metro carriage in Maalbeek station exploded.

The second emerging theme is travel and immigration, particularly relevant for Brussels, a city at the heart of Europe and crossroads for many nationalities. Jay Harold's three poems—"Shadows," "Force Seasons," and "Cornbread and Ice Tea"—capture aspects of memory and longing linked to living as an...