"Bruges-la-Morte" is the story of one man's obsession with his dead wife and his soul's struggle between an alluring young dancer - his late wife's double - and the beautiful, melancholy city of Bruges, whose moody atmosphere mirrors his mourning. This hallmark of Belgian symbolist literature, origi[...]
Translated by Mike Mitchell. Broadsheet coverage expected.
A novel about death and obsession set against the decaying grandeur of Bruges.
Hans Cadzand's father dies when he is an infant and he becomes the centre of his mother's life. As he grows up from a pretty child to a serious young man with deep religious convictions, she hopes she will remain the focus of his life. She sees his desire to enter holy orders as a threat to their li[...]