I LOVED this book! These characters will stay with you long after you put this book down. It is heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time. This is beautifully written and I can't wait to read more from this author.

The residents of an apartment building in Brussels are living their ordinary lives when the Nazi invasion disrupts their routines. The author brings us into the lives of these diverse characters as we walk the halls, drop in on conversations, observe the comings and goings, listen at doors, and peek around corners. Is it possible to put the pieces together and really know what is going on in these characters’ lives and what motivates them? Some could be deceptive and engaging in questionable activities; some could be admirable and involved in heroic acts.

Walk in the front door, and there is the Everard family’s apartment; Mr. Everard is a notary. Head to the second floor, on the left is 2L, vacant after the death of widow Boudrot, and soon a Nazi sympathizer will move in; on the right the squawk of a saxophone comes from 2R where Dirk, the unlikeable schoolmate of Charlotte in 4L, lives alone after the death of his parents. Walk up another flight. In 3L is retired Colonel Warlemont of the Belgian Armed Forces, and in 3R is the busy-body Miss Hobart. Another flight up, Charlotte Sauvin is an art student living with her architect father in 4L. Across the hall in 4R are their friends, the Jewish Raphaël family – art dealer Leo, his wife Sophia, and children Julien and Esther, who will soon secretly escape to safety. In the fifth-floor former maid’s room is Masha, a seamstress and Charlotte’s mentor and confidante.

Each resident has their say in revolving chapters with Charlotte as the standout character and a central storyline. As we piece together relationships, actions, and conversations, we see betrayals and bravery; failures and victories; secrets revealed and sacrifices made in this original, engaging narrative of ordinary people living through difficult times.

Historical Novels Review, February 2025

This book is so beautiful.
Hard to read (I had to take many breaks to breathe because I felt so stressed and sad), but oh so beautiful.

I loved getting to know the inhabitants of 33 Place Brugmann, and I cared about them so strongly so quickly.

As a North American, most of what I've been taught about the Second World War was through the perspective of going away to fight and rarely have I ever read (or considered really, which is my fault) the perspective of an occupied city. I cannot comment on the accuracy, but I have no doubt the climate of distrust and fear and stress and uncertainty the author built must have been close to reality, if I compare it to current events and how they've affected society.

I highly highly recommend this book and I will be reading the author's future books as well.


Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic | Grove Press for the opportunity to read this ARC. This book comes out on March 11th, 2025.

(An added bonus to this reading experience was the ability to visualize a lot of Belgium as I have visited most of the places / cities mentioned in recent years.)

This is a book about World War II told through the lens of the residents of 33 Place Brugmann in Brussels, Belgium. The chapters alternate between the residents of the apartment building. We learn about their relationships with each other, how they react to the Nazi occupation and war, and their loyalties during the war. I appreciated this format, which is different from many of the World War II novels I have read. Some of the characters feature more prominently than others, but they are all connected by virtue of living in the same building. We learn about them not only from their own chapters, but also from other character's tales.

33 Place Brugmann by Alice Austen is set during World War II in Belgium, a location I have not often explored in this particular genre of historical fiction. I was excited and very grateful to receive an ARC, as I loved the premise and setup of the story.

The novel offers a rotating cast of characters, all connected in some way to a single apartment building, the titular 33 Place Brugmann. This structure gives the book a rich sense of place, as the apartment complex becomes a microcosm of wartime Belgium, filled with a diverse range of characters from various backgrounds and generations. I thought Austen's prose was good, and I really enjoyed the diversity in the POV narration. The multiple narrators provide a broad spectrum of experiences, from those who are actively involved in the war effort to those trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy in an increasingly unstable world.

Unfortunately, I really struggled to connect with the characters. The novel never spent quite enough time on any single character arc, which made it difficult for me to fully invest in their individual journeys. I also grew really weary of the stream-of-consciousness narration; at first this gave their personalities some color, but I grew tired of reading non-sequitur thoughts and observations that really broke my immersion in the story.

In the end, the lack of a central story arc and the difficulty I had in connecting with the characters meant this book was not for me. However, I'd still recommend this to anyone who finds the premise interesting and enjoys/doesn't mind stream-of-consciousness narration; whether you love or hate the book, I think, will be a matter of personal taste.

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. I found the formatting was not properly converted so I had no idea who was narrating nor the layout of the building, which seemed key components to the book. Things were out of order and difficult to read. Thanks for the opportunity.

An interesting tale. Would recommend this to anyone looking for lighthearted fun read! Pick it up for your TBR!

33 Place Brugmann was a unique WW II read with a writing style that is equally subtle, descriptive and engaging.
It is centered on the lives of the tenets of a small apartment complex in Brussels, Belgium starting in 1939, right before the Nazi invasion. There are 8 tenet families plus a maids quarters occupant. Each person/family gives their POV which can be a bit difficult to follow, and connect with the various characters, especially at the beginning as you learn who they are. There were Jewish families, war veterans, Flemish, Belgians, refugees and attorneys among the tenants. The story follows those who move away as well.
This was an ARC version, so it didn't have the paragraph's separated consistently, so that made it harder to unravel.
What was well portrayed was the building tension between the tenants under the Nazi's increasing brutal regime and the various acts of bravery or cowardice that followed as they start to suspect each other of being either pro or anti-Nazi. Art, romance, suspense and unexpected moments of kindness or intrigue kept me reading to the end.
Areas of less fluidity were the "dreams" that happened intermittently, philosophical musings as well as connecting some of the side stories because the POV happened with another character earlier.
The ending was a twister and not neatly tucked away, aligning with the style of writing and tone of the story, war being messy and heartbreaking.
There was some war and personal violence, not graphic, sexual scenes also not graphic, mild use of profanity in line with war.
Overall 3 1/2 solid stars for this debut historical WW II novel that I recommend to those interested in this time period from a unique and realistic perspective.
A deep appreciation to the publisher Grove Atlantic/Grove Press and NetGalley for the ARC, it was a pleasure to read it. All opinions expressed are my own.

I have read lots of WWII-themed non-fiction and historical fiction over the years, and having spent time in Brussels, this book sounded interesting. The story revolves around the varied residents of an apartment building -- 33 Place Brugmann -- during the time the Nazis invaded and took over Belgium. The author -- who in the aknowledgments says she lived in thie building (not during the war, of course), gives the story more authenticity. The characters are a varied bunch, and thank goodness there was a list and description of them at the beginning of the book, so I could continually go back and refresh my memory as to who was whom.

I thought one of the best descriptions of the situation at the time was that the Nazis captured Brussels very quickly, but the "constraints" on the citizens' everyday lives came one at a time. The most chilling one was the order for all Jews to wear a sewn-on yellow star -- the people who worked in the factory that made them at first had no idea what the stars would be used for.

And although the atrocities and hatred the Nazis perpetrated is well-documented, the author has one scene in a shop where Charlotte, one of the main characters who lives at 33 Place Brugmann, goes into a shop to buy the monthly allotment of butter allowed each resident, but the shop owner will only give Charlotte her share and not her father's. While their heated exchange goes on, a young German officer enters the shop to buy a sandwich and also asks for butter, which the shop owner immediately gives him. Charlotte is fuming, and the German bumps into her on his way out. Later she sees that he has dropped the butter he ordered into her bag. Who would have thought that of the horrible Germans? (This character re-appears in the novel, BTW).

It is scenes like this that kept me reading. I do think there was a lot to keep up with, since the stories of many different characters are told throughout the book. And, obviously, there were characters that were more interesting to me than others (I did skim over parts that I thought dragged). But I give the book four stars because I think the author did an excellent job describing the everyday struggles of living in occupied territory during the war. I thought it was well-written and worth reading.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Grove Press for the ARC and the opportunity to read and review this book.

I unfortunately put this one down about one-third of the way through. The writing style was just not for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I picked up this book just because I lived many years in Brussels, not very far from the actual Place Brugmann and I was interested in reading about the people who lived there just a 40-something years before me, during the most horrible time of our modern history. I went in with low expectations, curious about how the author would capture our very complicated capital where language and cultures have been colliding for centuries, but which also proved to be a breeding ground for great artists with a penchant for the whimsical, the fantastic, the absurd. And I must say that the author has succeeded brilliantly in capturing this multi-leveled dichotomy that forms the small, strange country I live in.

Then the book took my by surprise to another personal level, as two of my aunts were in the Resistance, brave woman like Masha, who were mere links in a long chain set up to send messages and soldiers over the enemy lines; my grandfather being arrested and questioned about the whereabouts of his daughters. It made my family stories told to me when I was still a child come to life through lifelike and endearing characters like François and Charlotte.

The inhabitants of the building form a microcosm of all the people that still live here today. We all know the gossiping old hag, the seemingly innocuous but heroic father, the easily triggered young bloods, and the artists whose insights and search for beauty and form will always capture the best of the human condition even during the most horrifying moments in time. Also, it is a stark reminder of how fragile civilization is, and how quickly humans can evolve from merely enjoying life to commit unspeakable acts to just survive or protect their loved ones.

I feel the author has delivered a tour de force on all levels: the captivating storytelling, the layered compassionate and horrible characters, the complicated backgrounds and the inclusion of surrealism and magical-realism that very much define that particular time. Place Brugmann will be a book that will linger for a long time, its characters too lifelike to be quickly forgotten.

A heartfelt thank you to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I see I'm not alone in being unable to finish this. I read a few chapters and just felt like the prose was a lot of nonsense, almost pretentiously so. Galley is formatted poorly, which also makes it hard to even want to read.

very impressive historical fiction that i would recommend. well done and i found teh characters memorable. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

DNF

This book is sadly wasn't for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for this ARC opportunity.

I couldn't finish the book. The summary and the cover peaked my interest, but I couldn't get past the first chapter.

I couldn't finish the book. I think that summary was interesting but once I started reading I think that my interest was just not there and had to dnf the book.

In her exceptional debut novel 33 Place Brugmann, Alice Austen weaves a gripping and poignant story set against the backdrop of World War II in Brussels. At the heart of the narrative is the Beaux Arts apartment building at 33 Place Brugmann, where the lives of its eclectic residents intertwine in unexpected and often dangerous ways as the Nazi occupation looms. A blend of love story, mystery, and philosophical exploration, this novel is a powerful meditation on identity, loyalty, and the cost of resistance in times of great peril.

The novel opens on the eve of the German occupation, with Charlotte Sauvin, an art student and resident of the building, as our guide. Charlotte’s intimate knowledge of the building and its inhabitants—each character marked by their own secrets and aspirations—sets the stage for the unraveling of a complex web of relationships. The Raphaël family, art dealers whose valuable collection disappears under mysterious circumstances, become a symbol of the larger cultural and personal upheaval taking place. As the war intensifies, the residents of 33 Place Brugmann must confront their own fears and moral choices when a Nazi officer moves into the building, complicating their already precarious lives.

Austen’s writing is both elegant and gripping, drawing readers into the lives of her characters and the tense atmosphere of occupied Brussels. Each chapter shifts perspective, offering a window into the minds of different residents, from Charlotte’s godmother, Masha, a seamstress embroiled in a dangerous affair, to Colonel Warlemont, a man with his own hidden motives. Through their stories, Austen explores the transformative nature of war—how fear can distort a person’s identity, how love can inspire acts of courage, and how art can become both a refuge and a weapon.

The mystery surrounding the Raphaëls’ missing art collection serves as a metaphor for the deeper losses experienced by the residents of 33 Place Brugmann, who find themselves caught between survival and resistance, deception and truth. Each character is forced to confront what they are willing to risk—and for whom—in order to preserve their humanity in the face of unimaginable horrors.

33 Place Brugmann is a novel that speaks to the restorative power of art, love, and courage in times of oppression. It’s an evocative, beautifully written exploration of the ways in which ordinary people are shaped by extraordinary circumstances. A masterpiece of storytelling, this novel will resonate with readers long after the final page, leaving them reflecting on the moral complexities of wartime choices and the enduring strength of the human spirit.

33 Place Brugmann is a small apartment building, in Brussels, Belgium. This story is a microcosm of the Nazi occupation of Europe during World War II. The longtime residents of this lovely building include a successful architect and his beloved daughter Charlotte, who is a college student, as well as her best friend Julian and his family, who are Jewish. There is also there is a crusty, widowed Colonel, and his dog,Zippy. Masha, a Jewish Russian refugee, lives in a maid’s apartment. Miss Agatha Hobert is the nosy neighbor who spys on everyone. There are pro Nazi occupants as well as resistance members. Everyone has the same goal, to survive the war.

Each character narrates their own story, which is somewhat confusing, until we get to know them. This beautifully written tale includes heroism, as well as heartbreak and betrayal. The reader becomes an invisible occupant of 33 Place Brugmann.

This is one of those books that quietly pulls you in and lingers long after you’ve finished. Set in an apartment building in Brussels during World War II, it follows the lives of its residents as they face the growing threat of Nazi occupation. Through the character stories, it explores how people survive, resist, and find moments of beauty in a world falling apart.

What really stood out to me were the characters. They felt so real, like people you might know—or wish you could protect. Each person had their own voice and perspective, and their lives were all connected. The building itself became a kind of anchor for the story, a place that held all their hopes, fears, and quiet acts of bravery.

This isn’t just a story about war, though. It’s also about art, philosophy, and the little moments of humanity that keep people going even when everything seems hopeless. I found myself thinking a lot about the small choices people make—things that might seem insignificant but end up changing everything.

If you love historical fiction that feels deeply human and focuses on the relationships between people, I think you’ll really connect with this book. It’s beautifully written, emotional, and thought-provoking. I know I’ll be thinking about 33 Place Brugmann and its residents for a long time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Press for the chance to read this incredible debut.

DNF - Althought I was eager to read this book, it didn't end up working for me in the end. I'm sure there is an audience out there who will appreciate the story for all that it holds.