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Siegfried: A Black Idyll
Celebrated author Rudolf Herter is in Vienna to read from his masterpiece, The Invention of Love, when in a TV interview he speaks of his desire to write about evil. He is later contacted by an elderly couple who believe he should hear their shocking story. As servants at the Berghof, Hitler's retreat during the war, they looked after Eva Braun and consequently became guardians of a shattering secret and unwilling participants in a terrible crime. Burdened by his new knowledge, Herter must decide what to do with it...
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
About the author
Harry Mulisch
128 books432 followersHarry Kurt Victor Mulisch along with W.F. Hermans and Gerard Reve, is considered one of the "Great Three" of Dutch postwar literature. He has written novels, plays, essays, poems, and philosophical reflections.
Mulisch was born in Haarlem and lived in Amsterdam since 1958, following the death of his father in 1957. Mulisch's father was from Austria-Hungary and emigrated to the Netherlands after the First World War. During the German occupation in World War II he worked for a German bank, which also dealt with confiscated Jewish assets. His mother, Alice Schwarz, was Jewish. Mulisch and his mother escaped transportation to a concentration camp thanks to Mulisch's father's collaboration with the Nazis. Due to the curious nature of his parents' positions, Mulisch has claimed that he is the Second World War.
A frequent theme in his work is the Second World War. His father had worked for the Germans during the war and went to prison for three years afterwards. As the war spanned most of Mulisch's formative phase, it had a defining influence on his life and work. In 1963, he wrote a non-fiction work about the Eichmann case: The case 40/61. Major works set against the backdrop of the Second World War are De Aanslag, Het stenen bruidsbed, and Siegfried.
Additionally, Mulisch often incorporates ancient legends or myths in his writings, drawing on Greek mythology (e.g. in De Elementen), Jewish mysticism (in De ontdekking van de Hemel and De Procedure), well-known urban legends and politics (Mulisch is politically left-wing, notably defending Fidel Castro since the Cuban revolution). Mulisch is widely read and (according to his critics) often flaunts his philosophical and even scientific knowledge.
Mulisch gained international recognition with the movie De Aanslag (The Assault), (1986) which was based on his eponymous book. It received an Oscar and a Golden Globe for best foreign movie and has been translated in more than twenty languages.
His novel De ontdekking van de Hemel (1992) was filmed in 2001 as The Discovery of Heaven by Jeroen Krabbé, starring Stephen Fry.
Amongst many awards he has received for individual works and his total body of work, the most important is the Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren (Prize of Dutch Literature, an official lifetime achievement award) in 1995.
Mulisch was born in Haarlem and lived in Amsterdam since 1958, following the death of his father in 1957. Mulisch's father was from Austria-Hungary and emigrated to the Netherlands after the First World War. During the German occupation in World War II he worked for a German bank, which also dealt with confiscated Jewish assets. His mother, Alice Schwarz, was Jewish. Mulisch and his mother escaped transportation to a concentration camp thanks to Mulisch's father's collaboration with the Nazis. Due to the curious nature of his parents' positions, Mulisch has claimed that he is the Second World War.
A frequent theme in his work is the Second World War. His father had worked for the Germans during the war and went to prison for three years afterwards. As the war spanned most of Mulisch's formative phase, it had a defining influence on his life and work. In 1963, he wrote a non-fiction work about the Eichmann case: The case 40/61. Major works set against the backdrop of the Second World War are De Aanslag, Het stenen bruidsbed, and Siegfried.
Additionally, Mulisch often incorporates ancient legends or myths in his writings, drawing on Greek mythology (e.g. in De Elementen), Jewish mysticism (in De ontdekking van de Hemel and De Procedure), well-known urban legends and politics (Mulisch is politically left-wing, notably defending Fidel Castro since the Cuban revolution). Mulisch is widely read and (according to his critics) often flaunts his philosophical and even scientific knowledge.
Mulisch gained international recognition with the movie De Aanslag (The Assault), (1986) which was based on his eponymous book. It received an Oscar and a Golden Globe for best foreign movie and has been translated in more than twenty languages.
His novel De ontdekking van de Hemel (1992) was filmed in 2001 as The Discovery of Heaven by Jeroen Krabbé, starring Stephen Fry.
Amongst many awards he has received for individual works and his total body of work, the most important is the Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren (Prize of Dutch Literature, an official lifetime achievement award) in 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 228 reviews
November 7, 2023
Siegfried by Harry Mulisch
An interesting fictional viewpoint of the most evil man in modern times—Adolph Hitler. It’s not that he had reached a level of evil that had not been matched before or since; it’s what he brought down with him: the German nation—a brilliant, industrious, artistic people plagued for decades with wrong-headed leaders who led their nation into wars that they rarely won but in which they fought bravely, rarely accomplishing much at all except death and destruction. The lands of Europe are fertilized by the blood and gore of German youth, not to mention that of their victims.
Mulisch, though, is focused on Hitler the man and what we now know about him. Eva Braun, his mistress, is the other main character. Mulisch’s tale explores the philosophical influences that shaped Hitler’s mind as well as his personal experiences and his worship of composers such as Wagner and of mythical heroes.
There are several twists and turns that drive the story forward like an augur or a plow in soft earth. Try not to read the cover too closely which unnecessarily mentions a spoiler or two—a minor irritant, but a bother all the same.
The Penguin paperback edition has a photograph by Heinrich Hoffmann of Hitler which is haunting because of the expression on his face while holding a child, which he often did “Christ”-like, probably as a propaganda ploy, side by side with the child whose expression, to me at any rate, foretells the cavernous maw into which Hitler would hurl innocents like him within just a few years. The child’s face is mesmerizing.
This fine little novel has made me interested in learning more about philosophers Nietzsche and Schopenhauer and the composer Richard Wagner and those around Hitler doing his bidding.
I wonder if younger generations know enough about World War II, the sweep of Nazi power across Europe and what it sought to achieve. Also the notion of racial purity and how we still have to contend with it now. This book should throw light on these aspects for those who have forgotten or who have never bothered to learn.
© David K. Lemons October 2019
An interesting fictional viewpoint of the most evil man in modern times—Adolph Hitler. It’s not that he had reached a level of evil that had not been matched before or since; it’s what he brought down with him: the German nation—a brilliant, industrious, artistic people plagued for decades with wrong-headed leaders who led their nation into wars that they rarely won but in which they fought bravely, rarely accomplishing much at all except death and destruction. The lands of Europe are fertilized by the blood and gore of German youth, not to mention that of their victims.
Mulisch, though, is focused on Hitler the man and what we now know about him. Eva Braun, his mistress, is the other main character. Mulisch’s tale explores the philosophical influences that shaped Hitler’s mind as well as his personal experiences and his worship of composers such as Wagner and of mythical heroes.
There are several twists and turns that drive the story forward like an augur or a plow in soft earth. Try not to read the cover too closely which unnecessarily mentions a spoiler or two—a minor irritant, but a bother all the same.
The Penguin paperback edition has a photograph by Heinrich Hoffmann of Hitler which is haunting because of the expression on his face while holding a child, which he often did “Christ”-like, probably as a propaganda ploy, side by side with the child whose expression, to me at any rate, foretells the cavernous maw into which Hitler would hurl innocents like him within just a few years. The child’s face is mesmerizing.
This fine little novel has made me interested in learning more about philosophers Nietzsche and Schopenhauer and the composer Richard Wagner and those around Hitler doing his bidding.
I wonder if younger generations know enough about World War II, the sweep of Nazi power across Europe and what it sought to achieve. Also the notion of racial purity and how we still have to contend with it now. This book should throw light on these aspects for those who have forgotten or who have never bothered to learn.
© David K. Lemons October 2019
November 5, 2023
Grotendeels geslaagd literair experiment. Met deze roman weet Mulisch wat nieuwe duisternis te scheppen rondom de figuur van Hitler. Tot en met hoofdstuk 15 zit je vastgekluisterd in een fantastisch verhaal. Het overbodige hoofdstuk 16 is theoretisch gesnuif, onnodig, want hoofdstuk 17 vervolgt met heerlijke slotconclusies over Nietzsche en Wagner en de invloed van Hitler op hun leven(in plaats van omgekeerd). Alles wordt met alles verbonden, zoals Mulisch zo mooi kan.
June 10, 2023
I couldn't give this novel less then five stars because Mr. Mulish is an author I admire greatly and although I admit it is always difficult approaching books in translation because you can never know what subtleties are lost. I suppose I am trying to justify my five star rating because I found part of the novel weak and flawed, the part were Mulish attempts to construct a intellectual/cultural genealogy for the evil that Hitler believed.
But I have read to much history and/or biography about or dealing with events Hitler played a roll in to believe that there is a way to intellectually explain him least of all by ascribing any intellectual pedigree - all those theories dragging in Nietzsche who we can be sure Hitler never read. It is almost certain that he never read any heavy weight theorists - plenty of penny pamphlets, but he was never intellect, and nor were any of his early supporters - they all made fun of Rosenberg and his rambling 'Myth of the Twentieth Century' - and we probably have only Mein Kampf because of his prison term and the editorial help from Hess.
Hitler never read Nietzsche and certainly not Schopenhauer (two of those Mulish produces as intellectual forbearers) and even with Wagner (the third of progenitor of Hitler that Mulish discusses) I wonder how much his understanding or appreciation went beyond the Sturm und Drang aspects of various Wagner operas. I am not sure he had any real understanding of music either in theory or in performance. Hitler's 'intellectual' formation came from the pamphlets and tracts he read in Vienna along with listening to street politicians and performers. There is no evidence of sustained study, Hitler never concentrated on anything in his life.
So although I regret that strand of the novel I do think Mulish has painted an absolutely true portrait of Hitler and his surroundings. It is a portrait of vacuity, inevitably banality surfaces, but it is not so much the banality of evil but of lower middle class aspirational values and manners. His ideas were trash, but he believed that they were scientific and modern, so the Hitler of the novel is utterly convincing. I have no doubt Hitler in reality would have acted like Mulisch's Hitler.
Really it is absurd to question how Hitler came about as if there was something to learn from him and what happened - in 2023 are we really still questioning how a great state can become the plaything of a mediocre but ruthless and unprincipled man? It happens all to easily and the old saying for evil to triumph good need only stay silent and acquiesce still hold trues as does the saying:
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
Because forgetting that will be more terrible then forgetting everything about that nonentity Adolph Hitler.
But I have read to much history and/or biography about or dealing with events Hitler played a roll in to believe that there is a way to intellectually explain him least of all by ascribing any intellectual pedigree - all those theories dragging in Nietzsche who we can be sure Hitler never read. It is almost certain that he never read any heavy weight theorists - plenty of penny pamphlets, but he was never intellect, and nor were any of his early supporters - they all made fun of Rosenberg and his rambling 'Myth of the Twentieth Century' - and we probably have only Mein Kampf because of his prison term and the editorial help from Hess.
Hitler never read Nietzsche and certainly not Schopenhauer (two of those Mulish produces as intellectual forbearers) and even with Wagner (the third of progenitor of Hitler that Mulish discusses) I wonder how much his understanding or appreciation went beyond the Sturm und Drang aspects of various Wagner operas. I am not sure he had any real understanding of music either in theory or in performance. Hitler's 'intellectual' formation came from the pamphlets and tracts he read in Vienna along with listening to street politicians and performers. There is no evidence of sustained study, Hitler never concentrated on anything in his life.
So although I regret that strand of the novel I do think Mulish has painted an absolutely true portrait of Hitler and his surroundings. It is a portrait of vacuity, inevitably banality surfaces, but it is not so much the banality of evil but of lower middle class aspirational values and manners. His ideas were trash, but he believed that they were scientific and modern, so the Hitler of the novel is utterly convincing. I have no doubt Hitler in reality would have acted like Mulisch's Hitler.
Really it is absurd to question how Hitler came about as if there was something to learn from him and what happened - in 2023 are we really still questioning how a great state can become the plaything of a mediocre but ruthless and unprincipled man? It happens all to easily and the old saying for evil to triumph good need only stay silent and acquiesce still hold trues as does the saying:
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
Because forgetting that will be more terrible then forgetting everything about that nonentity Adolph Hitler.
May 4, 2018
Story about an aging and famous writer Rudolf Herter on a book tour to Vienna. During an interview he muses on his ideas about Hitler and argues that his essence can only be captured by putting him in a plausible but fictional scenario and seeing how it develops. He is approached by an elderly couple that decide to tell him their story. Ullrich and Julia Falk worked at the Berghof, Hitler's rural retreat as servants to Hitler and Eva Braun.
They tell their story – which starts as a fascinating portrait of Hitler but ends as a horrendous story. They are ordered to pretend that Eva Braun and Hitler’s son Siegfried is in fact their own son, and then later, Ullrich is forced to secretly murder Siegfried but to pretend (including to Julia) that it was an accident.
In second half of book in particular, Herter moves from musing on Hitler – and his contention that Hitler was a nothing, an "incarnation of Nothingness, a zero; just as zero multiplied by any number is zero, [he] consumed and destroyed whatever he touched", to linking Hitler and a variety of characters such as Hegel, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Wittgenstein, Plato, Kant, Schopenhauer.
In particular, in writing which is more similar to some of the conceits in the wonderful “Discovery of Heaven” he “proves” that Hitler’s very birth caused Nietzsche’s descent into madness.
These parts were very hard to follow – particularly without any real knowledge of the writings and works of the different characters and this third part of the book was the least enjoyable.
Towards the end of the book we read Eva Braun’s diaries of the last days – Hitler reveals that he was tricked by Himmler into believing that Eva herself had a Jewish grandparents and so Siegfried was not pure Aryan.
Not so much a meditation on evil but very much a meditation on Hitler himself.
For Mulisch – like Herter– the Second World War is ever present in his work.
At one point Herter, while in Vienna, muses “What was further away: the bloody business in Yugoslavia or the vast exterminations in Auschwitz? Forty-five minutes from Vienna and you were in the Balkans, but the 55 years to the second world war could never be bridged. Yet that war was much closer for him, just around the corner in time...".
Herter clearly is Mulisch in many ways – and in fact Mulisch chose to use the device of fiction to represent his ideas rather than an essay (e.g. like his report on Eichmann’s trial)
They tell their story – which starts as a fascinating portrait of Hitler but ends as a horrendous story. They are ordered to pretend that Eva Braun and Hitler’s son Siegfried is in fact their own son, and then later, Ullrich is forced to secretly murder Siegfried but to pretend (including to Julia) that it was an accident.
In second half of book in particular, Herter moves from musing on Hitler – and his contention that Hitler was a nothing, an "incarnation of Nothingness, a zero; just as zero multiplied by any number is zero, [he] consumed and destroyed whatever he touched", to linking Hitler and a variety of characters such as Hegel, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, Wittgenstein, Plato, Kant, Schopenhauer.
In particular, in writing which is more similar to some of the conceits in the wonderful “Discovery of Heaven” he “proves” that Hitler’s very birth caused Nietzsche’s descent into madness.
These parts were very hard to follow – particularly without any real knowledge of the writings and works of the different characters and this third part of the book was the least enjoyable.
Towards the end of the book we read Eva Braun’s diaries of the last days – Hitler reveals that he was tricked by Himmler into believing that Eva herself had a Jewish grandparents and so Siegfried was not pure Aryan.
Not so much a meditation on evil but very much a meditation on Hitler himself.
For Mulisch – like Herter– the Second World War is ever present in his work.
At one point Herter, while in Vienna, muses “What was further away: the bloody business in Yugoslavia or the vast exterminations in Auschwitz? Forty-five minutes from Vienna and you were in the Balkans, but the 55 years to the second world war could never be bridged. Yet that war was much closer for him, just around the corner in time...".
Herter clearly is Mulisch in many ways – and in fact Mulisch chose to use the device of fiction to represent his ideas rather than an essay (e.g. like his report on Eichmann’s trial)
July 3, 2009
The premise of this Mulisch novel is that Hitler and Eva Braun had a son, named Siegfried, a fact that only an aged couple in Austria still knows. The couple conveys this secret to Rudolf Herter, a famous Dutch writer who is the central character of the novel. Herter has long been convinced that biographical and psychological attempts to explain Hitler have all failed and that Hitler can only be meaningfully accessed through fiction. The secret about Hitler's son, which falls into his lap, enables him to construct a theory of Hitler that is part philosophical and part fictional . . . and in some measure mad. Hitler, Herter argues, is pure negativity, a black hole, the equivalent to the number zero which, in the act of multiplication, destroys all other numbers. It is ultimately as futile to find some past event that made Hitler the horror he was as it is to find an equivalent event that made God. The negative god Hitler was engendered, Herter argues in a frenzied monologue, from the lineage of Schopenauer, Wagner, and Nietschze, the latter going mad from syphilis in 1888 at precisely the time Hitler was born--a sort of ugly but equally mysterious immaculate conception. There is a good bit of craziness here, and a great bit of imagination, but it makes for fascinating reading. Mulisch can't seem to miss.
March 25, 2017
I bought this book just because I was bloody bored at a mall waiting for my cat's surgery to end. The title and cover intrigued me so I bought it to read while waiting for my cat.
When I started reading it, I thought how bloody boring it is, but since I had nothing better to do and I was tired- I continued reading. As pages melted in my eyes, I got interested and wanted to know how everything will end. And I can say I already knew the ending, it was predictible book. But actually it ended not like I thought. In fact the last sentence of a book made me stunned for some minutes. Such a mysterious ending! In fact all book was so mysterious... Predictible and nothing special, but the end was amazing. It's hard to write how I liked this book not making a spoiler.
So, to say it simply: it was philosophical, predictible and mysterious book.
First pages make you want to put it away, but all interesting plot is just in the middle. And in fact... I have now such thought in my head: "What if this is truth what was said in the book?" What if....
When I started reading it, I thought how bloody boring it is, but since I had nothing better to do and I was tired- I continued reading. As pages melted in my eyes, I got interested and wanted to know how everything will end. And I can say I already knew the ending, it was predictible book. But actually it ended not like I thought. In fact the last sentence of a book made me stunned for some minutes. Such a mysterious ending! In fact all book was so mysterious... Predictible and nothing special, but the end was amazing. It's hard to write how I liked this book not making a spoiler.
So, to say it simply: it was philosophical, predictible and mysterious book.
First pages make you want to put it away, but all interesting plot is just in the middle. And in fact... I have now such thought in my head: "What if this is truth what was said in the book?" What if....
January 21, 2021
Okay, cartea asta...
N-a fost deloc ce mă așteptam c-o să fie, probabil motivul pentru care nu i-am dat 5 stele. Dar nici nu pot spune că m-a dezamăgit, probabil motivul pentru care n-am coborât mai jos de 4.
Ca să trec peste simplități, e scurtuță și se citește ușor, lectura perfectă pentru a crește numărul de cărți citite într-un timp scurt, dacă vrei. Însă sunt de părere că trebuie să îi oferi o oarecare atenție, asta dacă chiar vrei să-nțelegi ceva din ce încearcă autorul să facă. Eu cu siguranță va trebui s-o reiau, lucru pe care îl voi face cu plăcere.
Practic, pe scurt, e cartea perfectă pentru pasionații de ficțiune istorică și de Al Doilea Război Mondial care s-au săturat să citească povești de dragoste sau reinterpretări cu final fericit al unor evenimente tragice. Este ceva cu totul diferit, care cred că ar uimi pe oricine, nu contează ce așteptări ar avea de la ea.
Lucrul pe care l-am apreciat cel mai tare a fost finalul. Atât spun. N-a fost deloc finalul pe care îl așteptam, dar m-a surprins cu adevărat. Dacă n-ar fi fost finalul, probabil i-aș fi dat mult mai puține steluțe, având în vedere care erau așteptările mele de la carte.
Oricum, o recomand cu drag pasionaților de ficțiune istorică, celor care caută un twist în miile de povești romantice/semi-tragice care se scriu acum despre perioada celui de-Al Doilea Război. Probabil rating-ul meu se va schimba când o voi reciti, cu mai multă atenție. Și nu poate face altceva decât să urce.
N-a fost deloc ce mă așteptam c-o să fie, probabil motivul pentru care nu i-am dat 5 stele. Dar nici nu pot spune că m-a dezamăgit, probabil motivul pentru care n-am coborât mai jos de 4.
Ca să trec peste simplități, e scurtuță și se citește ușor, lectura perfectă pentru a crește numărul de cărți citite într-un timp scurt, dacă vrei. Însă sunt de părere că trebuie să îi oferi o oarecare atenție, asta dacă chiar vrei să-nțelegi ceva din ce încearcă autorul să facă. Eu cu siguranță va trebui s-o reiau, lucru pe care îl voi face cu plăcere.
Practic, pe scurt, e cartea perfectă pentru pasionații de ficțiune istorică și de Al Doilea Război Mondial care s-au săturat să citească povești de dragoste sau reinterpretări cu final fericit al unor evenimente tragice. Este ceva cu totul diferit, care cred că ar uimi pe oricine, nu contează ce așteptări ar avea de la ea.
Lucrul pe care l-am apreciat cel mai tare a fost finalul. Atât spun. N-a fost deloc finalul pe care îl așteptam, dar m-a surprins cu adevărat. Dacă n-ar fi fost finalul, probabil i-aș fi dat mult mai puține steluțe, având în vedere care erau așteptările mele de la carte.
Oricum, o recomand cu drag pasionaților de ficțiune istorică, celor care caută un twist în miile de povești romantice/semi-tragice care se scriu acum despre perioada celui de-Al Doilea Război. Probabil rating-ul meu se va schimba când o voi reciti, cu mai multă atenție. Și nu poate face altceva decât să urce.
February 15, 2024
Novels based on historical figures are often problematic - how many of the details have been added by the writer to fill in gaps, how many things are presented as facts but are in fact fiction?
With this book these problems were less in the foreground as Mulisch is not attempting to produce any kind of biography: he adopts a three-layered approach (in my view). The secret at the centre of the tale works on an emotional level, enabling the reader to feel the heartlessness of the psychopath while Eva Braun's comments make us aware of how passive, almost inert people's reactions to appalling cruelty can be. The undergirding structure of the story connects Hitler's acts and attitudes to the ideas of various philosophers.
The tale was certainly not what I was expecting and I would recommend it as an interesting slant on a well-known story.
With this book these problems were less in the foreground as Mulisch is not attempting to produce any kind of biography: he adopts a three-layered approach (in my view). The secret at the centre of the tale works on an emotional level, enabling the reader to feel the heartlessness of the psychopath while Eva Braun's comments make us aware of how passive, almost inert people's reactions to appalling cruelty can be. The undergirding structure of the story connects Hitler's acts and attitudes to the ideas of various philosophers.
The tale was certainly not what I was expecting and I would recommend it as an interesting slant on a well-known story.
December 4, 2015
Het begint als een spannend, goedgeschreven verhaal. maar plotseling struikelen we over een enorme omgevallen boekenkast. Van Plato tot Nietzsche, Augustinus, Thomas, Kant, Marx, Wittgenstein, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, Sartre, van Schopenhauer tot Wagner, alles heeft met alles te maken.
De Woeste Schreeuw, de Diepe Snik, de Onbegrensde Passie ontbreekt. Het is geen Van Gogh, maar M.C. Esscher. Nog steeds knap natuurlijk, maar van mij hadden al die filosofieën wel wat meer in de vertelling zelf verwerkt mogen worden. Nu is het een verhaal dat verzandt in een hoorcollege. Niet het beste boek van Mulisch.
De Woeste Schreeuw, de Diepe Snik, de Onbegrensde Passie ontbreekt. Het is geen Van Gogh, maar M.C. Esscher. Nog steeds knap natuurlijk, maar van mij hadden al die filosofieën wel wat meer in de vertelling zelf verwerkt mogen worden. Nu is het een verhaal dat verzandt in een hoorcollege. Niet het beste boek van Mulisch.
May 9, 2020
Soms leest een leerling toevallig een boek, vertelt daar enthousiast over en wordt het een soort van hit in het examenjaar. Volgend jaar wordt dit boek volgens mij "de hit van V6" (er zijn nu al twee enthousiastelingen die over het boek praten "zonder spoilers"; het woord spoiler is voor pubers een aanbeveling).
En ik begrijp het wel. Het is een geraffineerd spel met de vraag wat fictie is waarbij de vraag "zou het dan toch waar zijn?" onwillekeurig wordt opgeroepen.
"Misschien is fictie het net waarin hij gevangen kan worden."
En ik begrijp het wel. Het is een geraffineerd spel met de vraag wat fictie is waarbij de vraag "zou het dan toch waar zijn?" onwillekeurig wordt opgeroepen.
"Misschien is fictie het net waarin hij gevangen kan worden."
December 6, 2009
I was about to give this four stars, because the idea behind it and the explanations about the (non-)personality of Hitler were really really interesting and I could even follow all of the philosophy thanks to my classes. But the ending was very predictable and made me realize that I didn't care for the main character at all. Also, and I have this feeling a lot when I read Dutch literature, the dialogue seems really forced and unnatural (when it's not meant to be like that).
November 8, 2023
Interesting fantasy about Hitler's supposed son, but not entirely balanced: especially the 20p about Nietzsche and Hitler are unenjoyable.
June 21, 2020
Zolang de hoofdpersoon z'n mond houdt, is het nog niet eens zo slecht.
March 11, 2018
Mooi geconstrueerde ideeënroman (de hoogste vorm van romans, aldus Herter, aldus Mulisch) over het grote niets dat Nietzsche zag ontstaan. Het is geen dik boek, toch bestaat het uit duidelijk van elkaar verschillende delen. De eerste twee zijn sterk. Herter, de verteller van Mulisch, vindt zijn idee om Hitler te ontrafelen door hem in een andere setting te plaatsen. In het tweede deel doet Mulisch dit, door de pleegouders te laten vertellen over Hitlers kind.
In het derde, filosofische deel, schrijft Mulisch in de stijl van De ontdekking van de hemel over allerlei filosofen en muzikanten die leiden tot het 'God is dood'-inzicht en in verband zouden staan met de geboorte van Hitler, de anti-persoon, de 'personificatie van het getal 0'. Hoogdravend en iets uit de bocht, maar gelukkig laat Mulisch het personage Maria hier ook al flink wat zelfkritiek op geven.
Uiteindelijk lukt het Herter dus inderdaad niet om in de huid van Hitler te kruipen, maar de dagboekfragmenten van Eva Braun zijn overtuigend en realistisch, en voor Herter fataal. Mooi gedaan.
In het derde, filosofische deel, schrijft Mulisch in de stijl van De ontdekking van de hemel over allerlei filosofen en muzikanten die leiden tot het 'God is dood'-inzicht en in verband zouden staan met de geboorte van Hitler, de anti-persoon, de 'personificatie van het getal 0'. Hoogdravend en iets uit de bocht, maar gelukkig laat Mulisch het personage Maria hier ook al flink wat zelfkritiek op geven.
Uiteindelijk lukt het Herter dus inderdaad niet om in de huid van Hitler te kruipen, maar de dagboekfragmenten van Eva Braun zijn overtuigend en realistisch, en voor Herter fataal. Mooi gedaan.
May 1, 2024
Ondanks dat ik vanmiddag in de tram mijn middelvinger had opgestoken naar dit boek is mijn eindoordeel, behalve dat ene stuk dat Mulisch aan de lezer wil laten weten dat hij heel slim is en de lezer heel dom, hard.
January 29, 2024
Rudolf Herter, het alter ego van Harry Mulisch, probeert in dit boek Hitler op geheel eigen wijze te doorgronden:
“In alles was dat creatuur mislukt, eerst als kunstenaar in Wenen, vervolgens als politicus in Berlijn; hij wilde het bolsjewisme uitroeien, maar hij heeft het tot in het hart van Duitsland gelokt, hij wilde de joden uitroeien, maar hij heeft de staat Israël geïnitieerd. Maar wel was hij er in geslaagd vijfenvijftig miljoen mensen mee te sleuren in zijn dood – en misschien was precies dat zijn eigenlijke bedoeling geweest. Als hij een middel had bezeten om de hele aarde op te blazen, dan had hij dat gebruikt. De dood was de grondtoon van zijn wezen. Hoe kon hij [Herter] onderzoeken of er misschien toch een laatste greintje levensliefde school in die sterveling? Iets met zijn lievelingshond misschien? Of met Eva Braun, met wie hij op de valreep immers nog was getrouwd? Waarom?”
Die laatste vraag wordt via een fantastische omweg beantwoord. Knap gedaan. Ook geestig hoe Mulisch Rudolf Herter beschrijft als zichzelf. 3,5*
“In alles was dat creatuur mislukt, eerst als kunstenaar in Wenen, vervolgens als politicus in Berlijn; hij wilde het bolsjewisme uitroeien, maar hij heeft het tot in het hart van Duitsland gelokt, hij wilde de joden uitroeien, maar hij heeft de staat Israël geïnitieerd. Maar wel was hij er in geslaagd vijfenvijftig miljoen mensen mee te sleuren in zijn dood – en misschien was precies dat zijn eigenlijke bedoeling geweest. Als hij een middel had bezeten om de hele aarde op te blazen, dan had hij dat gebruikt. De dood was de grondtoon van zijn wezen. Hoe kon hij [Herter] onderzoeken of er misschien toch een laatste greintje levensliefde school in die sterveling? Iets met zijn lievelingshond misschien? Of met Eva Braun, met wie hij op de valreep immers nog was getrouwd? Waarom?”
Die laatste vraag wordt via een fantastische omweg beantwoord. Knap gedaan. Ook geestig hoe Mulisch Rudolf Herter beschrijft als zichzelf. 3,5*
October 2, 2023
Space deze! Naar aanleiding van de lovende recensie van Joost deze bij mijn ouders uit de kast gepakt en daar heb ik geen spijt van. Het leest lekker en de plot en de beschouwingen op de persoon Hitler prikkelen als een 5-sterrenknaller, maar de (al veelvuldig bekritiseerde) pretentieuze tentoonstelling van intellectualisme dat niet het doel lijkt te hebben tot iets sluitends te leiden doet wel wat af aan de ervaring. Het einde is daardoor op een lekker prikkelende manier onbevredigend. Aanrader!
July 7, 2020
Misschien waren mijn verwachtingen te hoog, maar het kon me niet boeien. Voor mij leek het een interessant idee, maar ik vond het voorspelbaar uitgewerkt. Spijtig! Ik hou normaal van Harry's werk.
October 22, 2023
2.5
Połowy nie zrozumiałam. 😭
Połowy nie zrozumiałam. 😭
May 15, 2021
Je moet even door het begin komen, maar daarna zit je er wel echt in en is het een goed boek.
February 12, 2023
1 ster aftrek omdat Mulisch zo fucking pretentieus is, maar het Hitler element hield me enorm in zijn greep.
October 9, 2020
Door Hitler in een totaal gefingeerde, extreme situatie te plaatsen en te zien hoe hij zich vervolgens gedraagt, probeert schrijver Herter (en via hem schrijver Mulisch, en via Mulisch de lezer) hem beter te kunnen begrijpen. Deze situatie dient zich aan tijdens een lang en intrigerend gesprek met twee voormalige bedienden van Hitler; hij zou zijn eigen zoon hebben laten vermoorden. Herter komt tot het inzicht dat Hitler de personificatie is van het nietigende Niets, de uitroeier van alles en iedereen; de nul is de Hitler onder de getallen, die door vermenigvuldiging elk ander getal vernietigt.
"In de kunst is de vorm de eigenlijke inhoud." Met die inhoud zit het in dit boek wel goed.
"In de kunst is de vorm de eigenlijke inhoud." Met die inhoud zit het in dit boek wel goed.
October 27, 2022
I wonder about Hitler quite a lot, what he was like as a human being considering all the inhumane things he was responsible for and what he inspired in other humans. The main character in this story is Rudolf Herter, an author who is thinking about Hitler for his next book. The philosophical elements in the story were very interesting (the führer is described as the incarnation of nothingness) but it was the horrific secret that the Herter discovers that was so captivating.
March 14, 2019
Een oude elitaire schrijver (Mulisch) schrijft over een oude elitaire schrijver (Herter) die een boek over Hitler schrijft. Waarom schrijft Mulisch niet zelf een boek over Hitler, vraagt u zich misschien af. Mulisch en Herter willen allebei hetzelfde: Hitlers psyche doorgronden door hem in een alternatieve realiteit te plaatsen. Herter is echter in één opzicht verschillend van Mulisch. Hij bevindt zich al in een alternatieve realiteit.
Nadat Herter in een tv-programma hardop peinst over het schrijven van een roman over Hitler, wordt hij benaderd door een bejaard stel dat iets veel beters te bieden heeft dan Hitler-fictie. Ze hebben gewerkt als bedienden van Hitler op de Berghof. Volgens hen heeft Hitler hier een zoon verwekt. Hiermee ontvouwt zich een bloedstollend what if-verhaal, dat halverwege het boek helaas wordt onderbroken doordat Mulisch/Herter zichzelf verliest in overpeinzingen over het wezen van Hitler. Deze overpeinzingen bestaan uit een hoop filosofisch gegoochel, waarbij ik als filosofie-student geregeld de draad kwijtraakte. Soms wordt het bijna pijnlijk (Nietzsche en Hitler werden allebei 54. Toeval? Mulisch denkt van niet), maar alles wordt goedgemaakt door de dagboekfragmenten van Eva Braun aan het slot van het boek. Hierin beschrijft ze haar laatste dagen met Hitler in zijn bunker in Berlijn, waarbij je totaal vergeet dat je nog steeds fictie aan het lezen bent. Het is een fantastische finale van een alternatieve realiteit die werkelijker voelt dan de werkelijkheid.
Nadat Herter in een tv-programma hardop peinst over het schrijven van een roman over Hitler, wordt hij benaderd door een bejaard stel dat iets veel beters te bieden heeft dan Hitler-fictie. Ze hebben gewerkt als bedienden van Hitler op de Berghof. Volgens hen heeft Hitler hier een zoon verwekt. Hiermee ontvouwt zich een bloedstollend what if-verhaal, dat halverwege het boek helaas wordt onderbroken doordat Mulisch/Herter zichzelf verliest in overpeinzingen over het wezen van Hitler. Deze overpeinzingen bestaan uit een hoop filosofisch gegoochel, waarbij ik als filosofie-student geregeld de draad kwijtraakte. Soms wordt het bijna pijnlijk (Nietzsche en Hitler werden allebei 54. Toeval? Mulisch denkt van niet), maar alles wordt goedgemaakt door de dagboekfragmenten van Eva Braun aan het slot van het boek. Hierin beschrijft ze haar laatste dagen met Hitler in zijn bunker in Berlijn, waarbij je totaal vergeet dat je nog steeds fictie aan het lezen bent. Het is een fantastische finale van een alternatieve realiteit die werkelijker voelt dan de werkelijkheid.
February 19, 2018
awful. mulisch seems to have no skill at all, nor sensibility. his protagonist is a clone of himself, not to explore himself but rather to praise himself by comparing himself with mann, a sin for which hell rot in hell. his prose seems to have no cadence or consideration to it, farted out by a dozen drafts to make it publishable. his overarching themes involve pseudo intellectually blank attempts to try and make some point on aesthetic theory, but he clearly knows nothing about it and his points are as vapid as can be. this is a godawful book, dont read it. this is the best the dutch have to offer?
August 17, 2017
Hoe arrogant Harry Mulisch durft te zijn door zichzelf aan de lopende band en onder een voortdurend laagje bijzonder geveinsde bescheidenheid te vergelijken met kunstenaars als Goethe, Thomas Mann, Milton en andere mensen zoals Karel de Grote en Adolf Hitler. Daar gaat dit boek over. Verder een vrij eendimensionaal verhaal op basis van historisch onderzoek.
February 1, 2020
Ugh. The author's doppelgänger purports to understand Hitler at last, based on a heretofore unknown salacious and evil occurence. Alrighty then. Throw in some Nietzsche and Wagner and Eva Braun's diary and there you have it.
I thought this book was grossly exploitative and served no purpose. Bumped up to two stars since it held my interest until the end, with its unfortunate punchline.
I thought this book was grossly exploitative and served no purpose. Bumped up to two stars since it held my interest until the end, with its unfortunate punchline.
January 26, 2021
Een combinatie van het allerbeste dat Mulisch te bieden heeft met in het derde deel eindeloos filosofisch gewauwel, waarmee deze schrijver bewijst dat hij geen filosoof is, en dan uit het dagboek van Eva Braun. Zeer onevenwichtig
September 29, 2017
It wasn't that bad. The writers just goes on an ego trip for the first half and then we actually get to the topic of this book.
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