Dimitri Verhulst

In 1889, James Ensor painted Christ entering Brussels in the midst of a massive, chaotic procession of ordinary Belgians of his own time. In this short satirical novel, Verhulst picks up this idea and transfers it to the early 21st century: Christ has apparently announced that he will be arriving in the capital on the 21st of July, and Belgium is suddenly in a ferment of confused preparation, as six (count ‘em!) parliaments try to decide whose competence this falls under and which language should be used, whilst bishops and nuns panic and ordinary people decide to be nice to their neighbours or confess to long-forgotten crimes. An engaging satire, with lots of surreal Belgian flourishes, and the usual slightly bleak view of the world.… (altro)