733. The Sorrow of Beligum

The Sorrow of Belgium
Hugo Claus
1983
Around 610 pages

By now we've had our fair share of World War II novels on the List, but I believe this is our first story that takes place in Belgium. It's always interesting to see how another pocket of the world was affected by global conflict. And we can check Belgium off our world tour!

The Sorrow of Belgium is a bildungsroman that tells the story of Louis Seynaeve, a Flemish schoolboy who lives in Kortrijk before and during the German occupation. His family are Flemish nationalists and Nazi sympathizers. He goes to a boarding school run by terrifying nuns, and does normal schoolboy things. Well, mostly. Hopefully how he lost his virginity isn't that normal.

It's wild having this entry right after Primo Levi. Hopefully, it's easier to sympathize with Levi than a family that regularly says "Heil Hitler." But Claus manages to make them humans without the benefit of hindsight, and it's hard not to feel sorry for the mother, who could have benefitted from a therapy session. Or ten.

With the way racism and prejudice was so integrated into the culture, it's chilling how ripe Belgium was for Hitler. A fascinating peek at a country very much in the thick of everything, but often overlooked in literature.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a miniseries in 1994.

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