Praise for 33 Place Brugmann:

“Beautiful and deeply engaging.”—Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake

“Richly imagined new historical fiction . . . [a] stellar release . . . An apartment building in World War II-era Brussels gives Austen’s 33 Place Brugmann its title, but the activities of its residents take the novel’s action as far as the Outer Hebrides and the salons of Paris.”—New York Times Book Review 

“[An] elegant, absorbing tale.”—New York Times Book Review, “9 New Books We Recommend This Week” 

“As the threat of Nazi occupation looms over the residents of an apartment building in Brussels, the sudden disappearance of the Raphaëls, the Jewish family in 4R, sows distrust and fear among neighbors . . . Austen ably shifts viewpoints by chapter, allowing for multiple perspectives on characters whose stories weave together as they endure the war’s progression.”—Washington Post, “10 Noteworthy Books for March”

“Astonishingly accomplished . . . Though the story contains its share of heartbreak, it’s the most fun we’ve had reading about World War II in years.”—Marion Winik, Oprah Daily

“The title of Alice Austen’s 33 Place Brugmann points us to the address of an apartment building in a prosperous Brussels neighborhood, a district full of Parisian-style mansions, quiet parks and elegant boutiques . . . The building and its community would stand as a model of bourgeois stability were it not for the time period: It is August 1939, and the outbreak of war is about to throw the country into chaos . . . Austen’s nimble debut follows this group’s fortunes through the Nazi invasion and occupation of Belgium . . . The elegant Brussels building becomes a poignant microcosm of wartime alliances and betrayals.”—Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal

“Polyphonic in structure, the distinctiveness of each narrative voice is testament to Austen’s skill and the resulting novel is both intimate and ambitious, lyrical and moving.” —Hannah Beckerman,The Guardian

“A complex sympathetic tribute to the city of Brussels 33 Place Brugmann is full of secrets.”—Lindsay Duguid, The Tablet

“Austen's peripheral approach admirably reinforces the atmosphere of paranoia, confusion and suppressed fear. And such is the glittering, dreamlike quality of the prose that we happily skate over the surface of the text…One beautifully written and memorable short scene follow[ing] another.” —Alice Jolly, The Spectator

“Beautifully written, the novel stands as a great humanist statement.”—Stevie Davies, The Literary Review

“Through an arresting symphony of the residents’ voices, debut novelist Austen carves a special place in the much-surveyed landscape of Holocaust fiction, especially in her homage to the importance of art. Equally remarkable is her ability to bestow attention on each of the many characters while still driving the plot forward . . . In a powerfully well-written novel, the most chilling thought is subtly said, ‘What is thinkable is also possible.’”—Poornima Apt, Booklist(starred review)

“An impressive display of Austen’s storytelling skill . . . unfurling an unusually colorful and intelligent, poignant and rich World War II novel, a special treat for the many fans of that genre . . . As the novel rotates among its plethora of first-person narrators, each with a distinctive voice, from the wry and cultured Sauvin to the horrible busybody Miss Hobert in 3R, the issue of how to live in terrible times is explored with insight, compassion and steeliness . . . Crème de la WWII novel.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) 

“Kaleidoscopic . . . Both epic in scope and intimate.”—Publishers Weekly

“Engrossing . . . With eloquent and tense wartime suspense, the novel 33 Place Brugmann is an intricate character study about individuality and communal connection.”—Meg Nola, Foreword Reviews

“For all the trials these characters endure, the novel celebrates human resilience, the capacity for life-affirming action despite death’s shadow being cast on every home, even the ‘fortress’ of 33 Place Brugmann. Some residents scurry for safety, but others, following Charlotte’s example, learn the beauty of risking oneself to protect others. Readers who enjoyed Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow will find a similar sensibility at work here: an accidental crew of misfits, thrown together by the horrors of war, finding a camaraderie that makes life worth protecting.”—Sean Kinch, Chapter 16

“A vivid portrait of the world during WWII . . . Quite an accomplishment—full of pathos, suspense, and drenched in humanity.”—The Center for Fiction

"Charlotte… an artist at heart, demonstrates incredible human qualities through adversity and in the face of the collaborators and their petty accomplices… Alice Austen has penned an excellent debut novel,” Femme Actuelle, “Coup de Coeur” selection.

“A shattering novel about courage, resilience, and the primordial role of art.” Tatiana de Rosnay, Le Parisien Dimanche

"Everything is turned upside down in Brussels––people wasting away, dying of hunger, spying, hiding. And also discovering themselves. 33 Place Brugmann is an ambitious novel…but Alice Austen doesn’t play the game of forcing a tidy resolution…even at the end, there are threads that don’t tie up. Some are lost in the shadows, in the night, in the fog. But, at that time, wasn’t this so for everyone?” Le Figaro Littéraire

“Alice Austen’s debut novel is a small jewel . . . filled with intelligent observations, philosophical musings, ongoing mysteries, and stirrings of romance. [A] compassionate look at a group of people trapped by circumstance.”—AudioFile, Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award 

“Poignant and stirring . . . an accomplished and artful debut that couldn’t be more timely.”—Toronto Star

“Alice Austen’s staggering debut novel...set during the Nazi invasion of Belgium, alternates narrators between residents of the titular Brussels apartment as each one; Jewish and gentile, European and American, children and adults; reckon with what their future under occupation may look like and what they must do to survive it.” The National Book Review

“Powerful . . . an extraordinary book of secrets, betrayal and courage.”—David Herman, Jewish Chronicle

“The world of 33 Place Brugmann is spacious and intricately connected, filled with both horror and brilliant light. Alice Austen uses her considerable gifts to remind us that the past and the present are more connected than we wish to believe, and that vigilance, loyalty and art hold the key to survival. This is a beautiful and deeply engaging novel.”—Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Tom Lake

“Delicate and devastating. disruptive and beautiful, 33 Place Brugmann follows the intertwined lives of the residents of one building in Brussels during Nazi occupation – both within their individual apartments, and also as they try to make their way in the rapidly changing and diminishing outside world. Not only am I filled with admiration for the skill and ambition of this book, I also adored it. It’s a celebration of love, art and human decency when everything is reduced to the basics. It’s bursting with ideas and imagery, it finds courage and love amidst the ruins, and I read with my heart in my mouth.”—Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

“33 Place Brugmann is set in the turmoil of the Nazi occupation of Belgium. Austen’s device of using one apartment building, its memorable tenants, and their individual transformations is brilliant. A compelling and beautiful read.” —Abraham Verghese, New York Times bestselling author of The Covenant of Water

“In 33 Place Brugmann, a seemingly ordinary apartment building in the heart of Brussels becomes a microcosm of a world on the brink of war. Through multiple perspectives, Alice Austen weaves an extraordinary tapestry of lives intertwined by fate, fear, and resilience as Europe teeters on the edge of chaos in 1939. Offering a fresh perspective on a much-written-about era, this profoundly moving novel demonstrates the power of storytelling to illuminate the darkest corners of history.” —Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train

“A richly textured, finely written, deeply thoughtful novel that resonates in the mind. A hugely impressive debut.”—William Boyd, author of Gabriel’s Moon 

“33 Place Brugmann is an achingly suspenseful historical novel, sad at moments, but always intriguing, with a complex cast of vivid and involving characters. Wonderful reading.”—Scott Turow, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Presumed Innocent 

“In 33 Place Brugmann, Alice Austen conjures war-tested, occupied Brussels with uncanny potency and precision. This is historical fiction at its immersive, absorbing best. A riveting and original debut from a writer to watch.”—Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife

“33 Place Brugmann is a riveting portrait of community during a time when the very notion of community was under siege. A master of time and place, Austen has a historian’s grasp of detail and a storyteller’s command of suspense. This is a beautiful and important novel.”—Jessica Shattuck, author of Last House and The Women in the Castle

“A work of art—stylish, charming and magnetic. There is a crisp immediacy in the writing so that the eve of a world war is now, here, close and not in the sepia colored past.”—Leila Aboulela, author of River Spirit