Belgium may be a small country, but their bookish landscape is rich, diverse and beautiful. Belgium is a bilingual country, with its official languages of Dutch and French. We have already covered the Netherlands and France in this series, so here are 4 books from Dutch-speaking Flemish authors and 4 from French-speaking authors.

4 books from Belgium in Dutch

The Melting – Lize Spit

The Melting by Lize Spit is a haunting psychological novel that delves into the complexities of childhood trauma, betrayal, and the enduring scars they leave. The story centres on Eva, a woman in her late twenties, who returns to her rural hometown in Flanders after a 13-year absence. In the trunk of her car lies a large block of ice, a silent testament to her unresolved past. The narrative oscillates between the present and the summer of 2002, gradually unveiling the events that led to Eva’s departure.

I read this book year ago and still can’t stop thinking about it. If you like reading books like A Little Life, The Melting is a perfect book set in Belgium for you.

The Angel Maker – Stefan Brijs

Looking for a dark fairytale? This novel by Stefan Brijs is the one to put on your list. After many years Doctor Victor Hoppe returns to the small village he grew up in. His return generates a lot of interest – and suspicion. He is accompanied by triplets, all of whom share the same physical deformity as the doctor – a hare lip. These children are very quiet and are rarely seen in the village. But with time, and a series of apparently miraculous cures and tales of the wife he lost, the doctor begins to win the villagers over. He hires an ex schoolmistress, Charlotte, to look after the children. But the longer she works with the doctor, the more she begins to suspect that the children – and the doctor – aren’t what they seem…

The War Within These Walls – Aline Sax

Moving on to young adult. Illustrated with sober blue-and-white drawings, this powerful, acclaimed novel vividly captures the reality of World War II. After his family is forced to move into a crowded Polish ghetto, Misha joins other Jews who make a final, desperate stand against the Nazis. Conditions are appalling: every day more people die from disease, starvation, and deportations. Misha does his best to help his family survive, even crawling through the sewers to smuggle food. When conditions worsen, Misha joins a handful of other Jews who decide to make a final, desperate stand.

Mona in Three Acts – Griet Op de Beeck

In this international bestseller, a woman comes of age in a poignant novel about forgiveness, pain, and self-discovery. If you are looking for an emotional novel about a woman’s journey of self discovery and forgiveness and speaking her truth then read this book. (Tip: Check the trigger warnings before reading this one)

Mona’s demanding mother ruled their home until a car crash took her life and changed their family forever. Left to tend to a distant father and a needy younger brother, Mona finds her new role almost too much to bear. And when a new stepmother, troubled and depressed, adds yet another crack to the family portrait, Mona’s forced to shoulder an even greater share of the emotional burden. Somewhere between her responsibility to her family and to her own life, Mona finds a route of escape: in a theater career she craves. But for every challenge ahead—romantic, professional, sexual, and familial—Mona wonders how much of her future has already been defined by the challenges of her past.

4 books from Belgium in French

The Book of Proper Names – Amélie Nothomb

To have an extraordinary life, Lucette believes, one must have an extraordinary name. Horrified by the pedestrian names her husband chooses for their unborn child (Tanguy if it’s a boy, Joelle if it’s a girl), Lucette does the only honorable thing to save her baby from such an unexceptional destiny: she kills her spouse.

While in prison, Lucette gives birth to a daughter to whom she bequeaths the portentous name of an obscure saint, Plectrude, before hanging herself. From her beginnings, Plectrude seems fated for a life like no other. Raised by an indulgent and adoring aunt, she is a dreamy child who is discovered to have enormous gifts as a dancer. Accepted at Paris’s most prestigious ballet school, Plectrude devotes herself to artistic perfection, giving dance her heart and soul – and ultimately her body. As her world shatters as easily as her bones, she learns to survive in the only way she knows how – by committing an act of deadly self-preservation her mother would have understood best.

I Who Have Never Known Men – Jacqueline Harpman

The most popular book on the list is definitely this one by Jacqueline Harpman. But did you know that this TikTok favorite was written by a French speaking author from Belgium? A good read if you like unhinged literature with a dash of weird girl fiction.

Deep underground, forty women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before. As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl—the fortieth prisoner—sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others’ escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground.

Exposed – Jean-Philippe Blondel

For fans of Call Me By Your Name, Exposed is a great read. A French teacher on the verge of retirement is invited to a glittering opening that showcases the artwork of his former student, who has since become a celebrated painter. This unexpected encounter leads to the older man posing for his portrait. Possibly in the nude. Such personal exposure at close range entails a strange and troubling pact between artist and sitter that prompts both to reevaluate their lives. Blondel, author of the hugely popular novel The 6:41 to Paris , evokes an intimacy of dangerous intensity in a tale marked by profound nostalgia and a reckoning with the past that allows its two characters to move ahead into the future.

Thieves – Lucie Bryon

Last but not least, a graphic novel. This is Thieves by Lucie Bryon. Ella can’t seem to remember a single thing from the party the night before at a mysterious stranger’s mansion, and she sure as heck doesn’t know why she’s woken up in her bed surrounded by a magpie’s nest of objects that aren’t her own. And she can’t stop thinking about her huge crush on Madeleine, who she definitely can’t tell about her sudden penchant for kleptomania… But does Maddy have secrets of her own? Can they piece together that night between them and fix the mess of their chaotic personal lives in time to form a normal, teenage relationship? That would be nice.