At the end of Mon Alban, we learn that the opera singer Lennie has kept Alban’s death a secret, that she heard the shots that killed him, but couldn’t tell his mother what had happened. This new knowledge changes completely our opinion of Lennie, who for most of the story is frustratingly taciturn, sickly and sad. Lennie has been carrying around such a secret, and now we see, the pitiful character is actually the optimistic mother, faithfully writing to her son, convinced that they will meet again. Wanderer does something similar to a different effect: when we learn that Lenny is not only in love with Hermin (we suspected), we learn that he is also about to die, Hermin on his part remains opaque: why did he offer so much of time and attention to Lenny if he doesn’t love him? Or are Hermin’s motivations a mystery to himself? This overwrought moment speaks to how deeply complex Léon envisions her characters to be, and while Wanderer at times gestures wildly to the unrealized potential of her vision, I’m watchful for her next.