Chapel Road

Synopsis

Set in the working-class industrial city of Aalst, Belgium, Chapel Road follows the lives of Ondine and her brother Valeer as they come of age amid poverty, political upheaval, and the promises and failures of the twentieth century. Their story is interwoven with a retelling of the medieval Reynard the Fox tales and a playful metafiction in which Louis Paul Boon and his friends debate how the novel itself should be written. The result is a work that constantly shifts between history, myth, autobiography, and social commentary.

Widely regarded as Louis Paul Boon's masterpiece, Chapel Road is one of the defining works of postwar Flemish literature. Radical in both form and politics, it blends humour, anger, lyricism, and experimentation into a sweeping portrait of ordinary lives shaped by industrialization and class struggle. Newly translated by Adrienne Dixon, this landmark novel finally makes one of Europe's great modern classics available to a wider English-language readership.

About the Author

Louis Paul Boon (1912–1979) was one of the most important writers in twentieth-century Flemish literature. Before becoming a full-time author, he worked as a house painter, experiences that deeply informed his lifelong interest in working-class life and social justice. His novels combine formal innovation with sharp political insight and have earned him recognition as one of Belgium's greatest modern novelists. This edition is translated from the Dutch by Adrienne Dixon, with an introduction by Chad W. Post.

Publisher

Dalkey Archive Press (Dalkey Archive Essentials)

Publication Date

October 21, 2025

Format

Paperback

Pages

340

Subjects

Literary Fiction · Fiction in Translation · Flemish Literature · Modern Classics · Historical Fiction

ISBN

9781628975192