Olympia

In the early fifties, the Flemish meat factory 'Gebroeders R&R Van Dale' grows fabulously. The specialty of the company is the inimitable preparation of its boulogne based on horse meat.
Roland and Robert Van Dale, the brothers-directors, jointly manage the factory in a carefully balanced equilibrium. But the respected memory of their deceased father and founder of the company fades. and it becomes more difficult for the descendants to maintain a reasonable understanding. The Van Dale family expands with wives and children. Envy, resentment and rancor arise. The dependence on each other and on the factory is very great. Hidden and unconscious intrigues are set up among the Van Dales, with far-reaching dramatic consequences. The Van Dale family tries with all its might to maintain the family myths of civil harmony, paternal stereotyping and maternal martyrdom. Only Olympia, the exceptional and beautiful daughter of Robert, escapes the laws of decency. She has a secret and hidden bond with her family members. and with the discarded horses that wait patiently before they are ground into sausage.
At the Brussels Expo of 1958, the Atomium's shine is reflected on the Boulogne Brothers R&R Van Dale. The glory will be short-lived.
The tradition of the jealously guarded secret recipe of boulogne is contrasted with the uniformity of the department store. Against the background of an unbridled belief in progress and technology, the disintegration of the blood bond Olympia is the high point in Geertrui Daem's writing career, a beautiful epic chronicle of suffocating and redeeming family ties.