Stefan Hertmans’ new War and Turpentine quickly became a new Belgian literary classic. This novel, already translated into twenty languages, is inspired by his grandfather’s memoirs: his poor childhood in Ghent around 1900, his awful experiences as a frontline soldier in the first world war, the death of his great love, the silence of painting,... War and Turpentine masterfully describes the intermingling between a human life and this tragic century of Belgian history. The French translation of this bestseller will soon be available at éditions Gallimard.

Flagey, Éditions Gallimard, Le Soir