33 Place Brugmann

★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10

288 pages

What’s it about?

This novel is set in Brussels during World War II. The book follows the lives of the residents of 33 Brugmann Place as the war looms and then the Nazi's occupy the city.

What did it make me think about?

All wars.

Should I read it?

This had a large cast of characters, and it could be a little confusing at times, but I found it was worth the extra thought.  The author deftly places a list of the building's occupants at the beginning of the novel, which helps a great deal. In general, I steer away from too many World War II novels, as there have been so many written.  But this one intrigued me, and I am very glad I picked it up.  The author does an excellent job of portraying the subtleties between good and evil during wartime.  I imagine that her points are universal about war and could be made during any conflict and occupation.  This is a book that I would highly recommend- especially to those who love historical fiction.

A passage I marked

"No one sees anything the same way.  When we stop trying to understand how others see the world, when we lose our compassion, our empathy, we become animals.  Worse than animals."