The story of Berlin in the 20th century
Epic WW2 novel set in Brussels
10th January 2025
33 Place Brugmann by Alice Austen, an epic WW2 novel set in Brussels.
33 Place Brugmann is a rather splendid apartment block in the centre of Brussels. The author, Alice Austen, actually lived there for some years and her imagination takes her back to the WW2 period and the fictional occupants of the block as she believed they might have been. They are a motley bunch ranging from a fine art dealer and his family, an architect and his daughter, an ex-Belgian army widower, a notary and his wife, a girl who only sees in shades of grey (and imagines that no one else knows), an attorney and his family, a seamstress, to a retired cafe proprietor. They have nothing in common other than 33 Place Brugmann… The book tells the wartime experiences of each of them. The time brings out both the best and the worst in them – from those who fled because they were Jewish, to those who went to fight, to those who stayed and helped escaping POWs, to those whose title tattle and gossip endangered others, and to those who just survived.
The book is written in short chapters as the first person accounts of each of the inhabitants. And what is especially impressive is the way in which the author assumes the varying personas of each in the telling. Each chapter really reads as if the individual inhabitant is talking. Their perception of the same events is often at odds and adds to our understanding of the building and those who live in it.
The book is really a record of life of people in a major European city during the changes and deprivations of war. From those who choose to collaborate, to the invading troops on every street corner, to the merchants who try to give less than the ration card entitles, to those who bravely lead the resistance. It is also a chronicle of the varying (and sometimes surprising) relationships that exist within the building.
Alice Austen is an award winning playwright, screenwriter and producer. 33 Place Brugmann is her debut novel and I have no doubt that it establishes her as an author to watch. The book is an excellent and meaningful read.
Tony for the TripFiction Team
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