Harry Mulisch

I have read two of Harry Mulisch’s books so far The Assault and Siegfried, which I plan to re-read before commenting further here. I remember ‘The Assault’ moved me tremendously.

I went to hear Harry giving a talk in London as part of a series of talks on work in translation. Below is the poem I wrote after that session:

The Literary Heron
(for Harry Mulisch)

Speaking as if with tickling
fish lodged in his gullet,
more languages than one
desperate to fertilise
the egg of communication;
the elegant heron stood
at the lectern on
slender legs.

His words, he thought,
were seriously unserious,
and not all his own –
the paradox. He read without
submitting to the urge to
fly. Escape might only
sound like ego.
Good questions should
not be spoiled by answers.

by Caroline J McElwee

If you like The Assault, you should try Two Women, it's really good!

I have just uncovered a used and tatty copy of The Assault and plan to read it soon. Will update when done. The copy is falling apart and the inside cover reads the former owner's name and "Its a keeper" underneath.

Have now read The Assault and can highly recommend it. The writing is crisp and clear and the character development is satisfying. The theme centres around WW2 and Nazi atrocities and the aftermath. It is worthwhile.

I will now launch into a few of his other books - ordered online recently. I have Two Women, Last Call, The Procedure and Siegfried. (touchstones not working for all)

I think you will enjoy Siegfried Karen. It has an intriguing concept at its heart. I haven't been able to get 'Two Women' in English in the UK (and Vonini above recommended it), so I am off to try BetterWorld as it is clearly available Stateside!

I read The Assault by Harry Mulisch after someone here on LT mentioned it, and I think it is one of the most memorable books I've read. I loved how Mulisch presented a straight story line, and then introducing a very thought-provoking moral twist at the end.

Annette - I think you really summed up the satisfaction of the book. Books basing themes on a historical horror such as WW2 need to provide an ethical dilemma/reflection, or 'moral twist' to events. I totally agree.

would have loved to be able to read it without translation. too, although it was very well done.

Caroline - Two Women is available in English - I bought a copy recently from Abebooks for a dollar!

A few days ago I heard that "Two Women" is going to be published again in a special Dutch edition, so cheap that everybody who wants can acquire a copy. You could call it the National book for the year 2008. Maybe this will have an impact on availability in English?

Harry Mulisch was given the choice which one of his novels should be published in this special edition - he opted for "Two Women" because of its revolutionary role in Dutch literature - the description of the amorous relation between two woman, intertwined with evocations of mythological themes.

For those who love books which need time to be read (because of their volume!), I can highly recommend "The Discovery of Heaven", Harry Mulisch's Magnum Opus, published 15 years ago. Now there's also a picture (in English - with a.o. Stephen Fry). It can be criticized on many points, but captures fairly well the atmosphere...
Happy reading!

I loved Stephen Fry (and Hugh Laurie) in the "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" series. Not very Dutch, but the precedent was set.

De Aanslag. Hagedissen. I remember the hagedissen. And not much else.

Just finishing up with Siegfried, which has more of a philosophical discussion front and back of the story than The Assault.

I really like Mulisch's writing style and his intelligence. Overall as a fiction read, aside from the great ideas constantly flowing in Siegfried, I enjoyed The Assault more - but must let it sit awhile first. Both highly recommended.

Anyone else read them both? Next up, perhaps, is the bigger book The Discovery of Heaven.

(I like his philosophical ramblings and musings - such as:

"Great people talk about ideas, interesting people talk about events, and average people talk about people - or some similar wording! I am using this on my teenagers!)

"Two Women"

The problem with novels that are either stylistically original or break taboos, is that they date far more quickly than others, and I felt that this novel suffered somewhat from that. In the 1970s, Mulisch openly writing about lesbianism, probably caused some stir in the literary world, now somehow seems quite flat. Barely could feel any kind of bond between these two people. No real frisson at all. It wasn’t even simply a quiet relationship. It was as if two people had met on a bored day and for no other reason decided to dance together, but their dance was lacklustre.

The second half opens up a bit, brings some more ideas, but some of these seemed more interesting than the relationship itself. As we were wrung through act 2 we are given the tragedy that one of the characters implies is not possible between same sex partnerships, and yet I still didn’t believe that in such a short time the intensity of this relationship was such that it would have inspired such behaviour.

Did Mulisch simply expect his novel to ride on the steam of sensation? Unfortunately most of the original reviews of this novel will be in Dutch so I don’t really know how it was received, although Jan-Willem in an entry above tells us that a special edition of this novel is due to be released. As it has been selected by Mulisch, clearly it holds some special place amongst his work for him.

I'll give it another go in time, as there were themes in the second part of the novel that I found interesting, but as a piece complete, it failed for me.

Thanks for that review, Caroline. It has, naturally, whetted my appetite and I'd be curious to see if I agree with you (I suspect I will!!!). It might take a while for me to get to it though.

Have you read Beyond Sleep yet? It's marvellous.

Yesterday evening at 8.00 PM, Harry Mulisch died, 83 years old. Because his state was irreversible, he didn't eat anymore since a few days.
Harry passed away, his books will certainly stay.

He will be missed by those who were moved by his work JWN. The Discovery of Heaven moves near the top of my pile again. I took it to Amsterdam to read during a holiday there in 2002, but 9/11 happened and concentration exited through the cracks for a while.

Obituaries in English:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/books-obituaries/8...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/07/harry-mulisch-obituary