The Sorrow of Belgium

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The Sorrow of Belgium (Dutch: Het verdriet van Belgiƫ) is a novel by the Belgian author Hugo Claus published in 1983, and is arguably his best known work outside of Belgium. It was made into a mini-series in 1994.

It tells the story of the childood and youth of Louis Seynaeve (Claus' alter ego) in the Flemish village of Walle (real life Kortrijk) from 1939 to 1947, coinciding with the period Second World War, the German occupation of Belgium, and its aftermath.