33 Place Brugmann
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
"Alice Austen uses her considerable gifts to remind us that the past and the present are more connected than we wish to believe, and that vigilance, loyalty and art hold the key to survival. This is a beautiful and deeply engaging novel." — Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake
An outstanding debut novel—a love story, mystery, and philosophical puzzle, told in the singular voices of the residents of a Beaux Arts apartment house in Belgium during World War II.
On the eve of the Nazi occupation, in the heart of Brussels, life for the residents of 33 Place Brugmann is about to change forever.
Charlotte Sauvin, an art student raised by her beloved architect father in apartment 4L, knows all the details of the building and its people: how light falls on wood floors and voices echo off the marble staircase, the distinct knock of her dear friend, Julian Raphaël, the son of the art dealer’s family across the hall. Then the Raphaëls disappear, leaving everything behind but their priceless art collection, which has simply vanished.
All else that’s familiar fractures when whispers of German occupation become reality, and the lives of the residents grow increasingly intertwined. Charlotte’s godmother Masha, a beautiful seamstress living upstairs, deepens her risky affair with a wartime compatriot of Colonel Warlemont in 3L—a man far more calculating than his neighbors believe. When a Nazi functionary with an interest in the Raphaëls moves into the building, knowing who can and cannot be trusted becomes a matter of life and death.
In the face of their perilous new reality, every member of this accidental community will discover they are not the person they believed themself to be. When confronted with a cruel choice—submit to the regime or risk their lives to save one another—each learns the truth about what, and who, matters to them the most.
A propulsive and exquisitely written tour de force, 33 Place Brugmann champions the restorative power of love, courage, and art in times of great threat.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Playwright Austen debuts with a kaleidoscopic portrait of the early days of WWII from the perspectives of a Brussels apartment building's 16 residents. At first, the residents seem more interested in each other than the threat of occupation that hangs over them. Foremost in this regard is Charlotte Sauvin, an art student who lives with her architect father, Francois, and is juggling two potential suitors. She has known Cambridge student Julian Raphaël since childhood but feels a growing attraction to fellow art student Philippe. As the war heats up, Julian becomes a pilot. His family, including his art dealer father and his wife and daughter, are passionately anti-Hitler and eventually flee to London, where they join the Allied war effort. A saltier perspective is provided by maid Masha Balyayeva, whose story line turns tragic after she takes up with the much older, rakish Harry. Other residents include the widowed Belgian colonel Herman Warlemont, the blunt and no-nonsense proto-feminist Agathe Hobert, and the insightful, sardonic Martin DeBaerre. Austen's experience as a playwright serves her well in providing texture via multiple distinct narrative voices. Spanning nearly four years, the novel is both epic in scope and intimate. It's a noteworthy portrait of life during wartime.
