33 Place Brugmann

33 Place Brugmann ~ Alice Austin

It is August, 1939, in a wealthy Brussels neighborhood. The residents of a prosperous apartment building include a Jewish art dealer, Leo Raphael, his wife Sophia, and their children, Julian and Esther; an architect, Francois Sauvin and his art student daughter, Charlotte; an army colonel; a lawyer; a seamstress; a notary; and a few other well-to-do tenants.

The art dealer and his family emigrate to England, where Julian joins the Royal Air Force, and Esther becomes a war nurse. The remaining residents stay in Brussels and have to find their way under the increasing limitations and dangers of Nazi occupation. The story unfolds in the voice of the different characters, so we get each of their points of view. Charlotte describes the occupation: “The occupation of Brussels was immediate, but the constraints – the impositions, the curfews, the ostracizing, the marking, the bans, the roundups, the deportations, the murders – these happened so gradually they might be called cunning, for just as you got used to one thing, there was another.”

As the book goes on and we switch perspectives, we come to see how each character copes with the increasing danger, with the deprivation and hunger of food rations, with the fear of loss, and with the distrust of neighbors and friends, as self preservation and loyalty are shown in stark relief.

I liked this book a lot, and found its lessons to be timely as our world once again teeters toward authoritarian leaders. I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by different actors for each character. Highly recommended.