The Chessboard: A Memoir

Through the lens of chess, a celebrated Belgian author unearths fresh insights into his work and relationships in this luminous exploration of childhood, memory, and aging.

Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic forced Europe into lockdown, Jean-Philippe Toussaint left Brussels for the seaside city of Ostend. Spending his days editing his novel The Emotions and coming to terms with new aches and pains, his mind wanders to memories of his youth—summers at the beach with his grandmother, whose s...