The Meantime: Nine Short Stories from Brussels

'Some of the sharpest and most entertaining writing about contemporary life I've read in a long time. Nine vivid slices of literary talent - by turns funny, daring and unsettlingly accurate. A treat for anyone looking for new voices in European fiction' – Oliver Harris, author of The Hollow Man.

'All credit due to these authors who have tackled a city that writers appear to avoid... In sum, an accomplished and interesting collection, which benefits from the different styles and personalities of its young writers' – The Brussels Bulletin

'If this is the meantime, we are very curious to see what these young people will produce when the coin has been tossed.' – Agenda Magazine

'These nine young writers...have gazed seriously and unflinchingly at the city...The result is a curious and highly-enjoyable waterzooi of a collection' – Flanders Today

In the heart of the European quarter, a disillusioned civil servant asks himself what he is doing stranded on a rain-swept roundabout with a Commissioner and a pig. When night falls on the same streets, a young hedonist is drawn into a vengeful game that threatens to turn fatal. What is he being punished for? And why can't he run? Nine young characters – some expats, some locals - walk the streets of Brussels: capital of Europe, purgatory of dreams and ambitions. Nothing constrains their freedom, but is nothing a reason to stay? In a city of transitory people and multiple identities, they must choose, over and over again.The Meantime is an English-language short story collection set in Brussels. Written with affection but without illusions, The Meantime will take you on nine vivid journeys through a city and a stage of life where nothing is permanent – except transition. Authors are Belgian, British, Central African, Finnish, Hungarian, Italian, Rwandan and Spanish.