Alice Austen’s 33 Place Brugmann tells a connected story of surviving—or not surviving—World War II and the Nazi occupation of Belgium. Two of the families that live in the apartment building are related but close quarters (and some nosy neighbors) mean that everyone knows at least a little bit of everyone’s business. Perhaps it’s the American in me but I found that I both longed for the closeness of the relationships that spring up in 33 Place Brugmann and relished my current privacy, since I don’t have neighbors who poke their heads out of their doors to see what I’m up to...

Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.