33 Place Brugmann
A Novel
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33 Place Brugmann
Narrated by:
Shiromi Arserio, Jilly Bond, Nicholas Boulton, Billie Brown Fulford, Danielle Cohen, Raphael Corkhill, Matthew Lloyd Davies, James Meunier, Joshua Riley, Simon Slater
Buy Now for £19.09
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By:
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Alice Austen
About this listen
“Wonderful reading.” —Scott Turow, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Presumed Innocent
An extraordinarily accomplished 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 eight apartments at 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 gleaming wood and voices echo off marble, the distinct knock of her dear friend, Julian Raphaël, the eldest son of the art dealer’s family across the hall. Then the Raphaëls disappear, leaving behind everything but their invaluable art collection, which mysteriously vanishes.
All that’s familiar fractures when whispers of German occupation become reality. A Nazi functionary moves into the building, and the residents’ lives become increasingly entwined. Charlotte’s godmother Masha, a beautiful seamstress upstairs, deepens her dangerous affair with a wartime compatriot of Colonel Warlemont in 3L—a man far more calculating than his neighbors believe. As relationships shift and new alliances form, the question of who to trust 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 hopeful tour de force, 33 Place Brugmann champions the restorative power of love, courage, and art in times of great threat.
Critic reviews
"Alice Austen’s debut novel is a small jewel, and the multiple narratives by expert audio actors bring light to each facet. The tenants at 33 Place Brugmann in Brussels just before the Nazi occupation live fascinating, if ordinary, lives. But as everything changes, intimate individual portraits of the residents, wonderfully performed, move the plot forward, heighten the tension, and illustrate the wartime dangers each character faces. From building manager Jan Everard to nosy harridan Miss Hobart in 3R, from architect François Sauvin to art dealer Leo Raphaël and their families—each story is filled with intelligent observations, philosophical musings, ongoing mysteries, and stirrings of romance. Austen’s compassionate look at a group of people trapped by circumstance allows each textured performance to ring with truth."
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