Can anyone help out this bibliophile? And if not, you might find the comments on his post useful - there's a good list there!
If all goes to plan I will be off to Brussels at the end of next week on a mini break (for work, so not so much of a break actually). That sounds more leisurely than it actually is as the itinerary will be quite full, but there is some travelling around and ‘time of my own’ to go and explore, wander the streets and find little cafes to sit and read in. And that’s where I wanted your help. What books by Belgians or based in Brussels could you recommend?
I’ve got the obligatory travel/city guides from the library…
…But I do like to have some fiction from the country with me too. Some crime might be good, so could some quirky literature, or indeed a classic. In fact any suggestions are welcome. I will be taking Daphne Du Maurier with me but have room for one more book. Can you advise?
'via Blog this'
I can only think of 'An Infamous Army', which probably won't help!
ReplyDeleteYou'd think after almost 4 years here I'd know some more books by Belgians, but I don't. Agatha Christie's character Hector Poirot was Belgian, if you like classic murder mysteries though...
ReplyDelete"Bruges la morte" by Georges Rodenbach, which you can get in HTML from the Gutenberg project. The guide "Bruxelles insolite et secret" is also worth its salt, and for fiction there are books by Jean Ray (esp. Malpertuis, a classic)—think Edgar Allan Poe in spirit. Or you can try George Simenon, who is from Liège and wrote a lot of terse murder mysteries. If symbolism is your thing, go for Maeterlinck.
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