He was born in 1912 as Lodewijk Paul Aalbrecht Boon in Aalst, Belgium, the oldest son in a working-class family.

Boon was moved to Veldwezelt at the outbreak of World War II in May 1940 in order to defend the Albert Canal.

After writing an unpublished novel, Boon's official debut came in 1942 with De voorstad groeit (The suburb grows).

In subsequent years, Boon continued to combine newspaper and literary work, and even added painting and sculpture to his activities.

In this book, the term 'enemy' by no means signifies Germans exclusively, even though one story tells of the extermination of a Jewish girl and another of a camp prisoner's experiences.

In 1953 he published the work that now stands as his greatest masterpiece, Chapel Road (De Kapellekensbaan, translated by Adrienne Dixon), which he began to write as early as 1943.

Its dazzling construction combines several narrative threads, including an almost postmodern one where the writer and his friends discuss how the story should develop further.

Boon's literary legacy is a versatile, ranging from journalistic pieces on Belgian politics and society to erotic novelas.