The Assault by Harry Mulisch Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Assault
Book Review: A Masterwork
Summary: 4 Stars
When my work took me to Holland for a few months, I asked people there what Dutch novels they would recommend. They all said "The Assault". It would certainly be an exageration to say that Holland has no literature, but not much of an exageration. It is renowned for its great painters and architects, not its writers. But in "The Assault" at least, they have produced an indisputable masterpiece. If you read just one Dutch novel, this has to be it.An exquisitely poignant evocation of life in German-occupied Holland in World War II, it invites the reader to make moral judgements and then systematically undermines those judgements. It is a restrained, undemonstrative, beautifully written work that unfolds gradually and in a most unexpected way. Highly recommended.
Book Review: A STORY THAT DIGS DEEP INTO THE HUMAN SOUL
Summary: 4 Stars
I read the original dutch version, the story of a young boy who is faced with the ultimate tragedy of war, losing all he loves and knows. This picture of an innocent 12 year old stays with you throughout the book, even as he grows to middle age. Knowing the rest of the story as he grows older is the unfolding of a good mystery.Book Review: A matsterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Harry Mulisch is not well known in the United States -- and it's a shame. The Assault is an undiscovered masterpiece: a moral quandary is wrapped in a thriller and a deeply philosophical work; the result is stunning. The Assault is one of the best novels I've ever read; it ranks easily along works by Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Garcia Marquez, Lessing and even Tolstoy. I recommend this novel wholeheartedly. It will stay with the reader and reveal hidden layers of meaning over time.
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I'm sorry to say I was not very taken with Mulisch's other major oeuvre, "The Discovery of Heaven." Unlike "The Assault" which is stunning in its minimalism, "Discovery" is excessively verbose and so pretentiously intellectual that it made me imagine Umberto Eco on speed.
Book Review: A very good read
Summary: 4 Stars
Spanning from WWII to the 1980's is a very difficult task. To do this in 180 pages is near impossible. Mulisch does this successfully with The Assault. This story follows Anton as his family is murdered for simply having a member of the Nazi party dead in front of their house. Anton suppresses the memories of the events and restarts his live with his aunt and uncle. Through out his life though people continue to show up and jar his memory and desire to understand what happened. Mulisch could have made this story longer and no one would have complained. He is poetic in his language and lets his readers find the details instead of revealing them. The 5th star is absent because I felt the book had some political preachiness and it seemed unrealistic for the Anton character to move on the way he does.
All in all it was a very good and quick read. Suggested for all ages.
Book Review: Don't watch the movie the book is even better!
Summary: 5 Stars
Although the movie won an Oscar and was directed by Fons Rademakers, the book is even better, if you want the most supreme Dutch novels about WW2 also read WF Hermans' The dark chamber of Damocles (litteraly translated title) with that you have the best. (of world litterature)