Charming terrace conversation with Boon Literature Prize winner Tijl Nuyts: Grondwerk

In Josée's summer project, everything revolves around the water that is pumped up from under Sint-Joostplein. Our source of Sint-Joost springs underground. Ook de Boon Literatuurprijs award-winning novel by Schaarbekenaar Tijl Nuyts takes place in underground Brussels. We sit together on the square to fathom his book, in a cozy summer evening-sitting under the tree way. 'Grondwerk' reveals a hidden world under the Vaderlandsplein in Brussels. Hidden in a system of tunnels, a naked mole-rat, on a mission from the Hoorn van Afrika, waits for a briefing. A human who reports to her burrow wins her trust and records her story word for word. Meanwhile, sinkholes are growing all over the city. Something is brewing in the administrative heart of Europe. Is an uprising imminent?\n\nGrondwerk is a story about resistance and recovery, about collective action, shared ground, and attempts to make the world habitable. A novel full of conspiracy theories and future images, which shows that we cannot do without each other.