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Siegfried
A bracing meditation on the nature of evil and a moving evocation of the human heart, Siegfried is one of Harry Mulisch's most powerful novels. After a reading of his work, renowned Dutch author Rudolf Herter, who had recently commented in a television interview that it may be only through fiction that the uniquely evil figure of Adolf Hitler can be truly comprehended, is approached by an elderly couple. The pair reveal that as domestic servants in Hitler's Bavarian retreat in the waning years of the war, they were witness to the jealously guarded birth of Siegfried—the son of Hitler and Eva Braun. For more than fifty years they have kept silent about the child they once raised as their own. Only now and only to Herter are they willing to reveal their astonishing story.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
58 people are currently reading
1728 people want to read
About the author
Harry Mulisch
138 books476 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 285 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....
August 4, 2025
Afgezien van de filosofische verhandeling die leidt tot de kern van het boek (om dat te begrijpen moet je duidelijk slimmer zijn dan ik ben) vond ik dit echt heel interessant. Het had zo echt gebeurd kunnen zijn, of…
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."
August 27, 2025
Mis impresiones son concisas, no siempre una novela requiere de grandes discursos para ser recomendada, en realidad ninguna lectura debería serlo. Lo importante de esta novela no es la trama, no es lo que obsesiona ni al protagonista ni al escritor, sino la compleja idea que subyace. Rudolf es el alter ego de Harry Mulisch, el nazismo y el Holocausto no se olvida ni se supera, la existencia de Sigfrido es una herida abierta, un miedo, una reencarnación. Una novela que habla de la memoria, el trauma y la necesidad de comprender el mal para sobrevivir.
March 8, 2025
Lees als een preek waarin Mulisch zichzelf gretig ophangt aan zijn eigen intellect, met als resultaat een vertoon van ‘slimheid’ dat meer irritatie oproept dan bewondering
July 3, 2025
Mulisch wouldn't be Mulisch if he didn't, in one way or another, connect his view on philosophy to the Second World War and, specifically, once again to Adolf Hitler.
His alternative version of history works quite well to a certain extent. It's fascinating to read how he subtly yet dramatically unravels the story of Siegfried.
Next, through Herter, Mulisch picks up the story again and attempts to interpret and place it within a philosophical framework. Here, things become a bit shaky. Describing Hitler as the great NOTHING and linking this with Nietzsche's mental decline seems like an interesting thought experiment, but in my opinion, it doesn't go much further than that. It does raise questions about predestination and inevitability, though.
In the final part, Mulisch shifts the POV to that of Eva Braun. Through her eyes, the last days of Hitler are described.
All in all, a strong novel, especially the beginning and the end. We’ll just accept the philosophical freewheeling as part of the deal.
His alternative version of history works quite well to a certain extent. It's fascinating to read how he subtly yet dramatically unravels the story of Siegfried.
Next, through Herter, Mulisch picks up the story again and attempts to interpret and place it within a philosophical framework. Here, things become a bit shaky. Describing Hitler as the great NOTHING and linking this with Nietzsche's mental decline seems like an interesting thought experiment, but in my opinion, it doesn't go much further than that. It does raise questions about predestination and inevitability, though.
In the final part, Mulisch shifts the POV to that of Eva Braun. Through her eyes, the last days of Hitler are described.
All in all, a strong novel, especially the beginning and the end. We’ll just accept the philosophical freewheeling as part of the deal.
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?
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).
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.
November 8, 2023
Interesting fantasy about Hitler's supposed son, but not entirely balanced: especially the 20p about Nietzsche and Hitler are unenjoyable.
July 21, 2024
echt weer een Mulisch boek, plottwist na plottwist op het einde, waarbij je hoopt dat je nog veel te lezen hebt. ik hou er van
August 28, 2025
Het verhaal was summier en de centrale these vond ik weinig overtuigend
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.
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.
May 27, 2024
Ik vind de nederlandse versie niet...
Mulisch stelt wel nooit teleur, ik ga al zijn romans lezen #yolo
Mulisch stelt wel nooit teleur, ik ga al zijn romans lezen #yolo
November 30, 2025
Очікувала, цікаву розповідь про уявного сина гітлера, а довелося читати щось таке:
"Таким чином, Гітлер є абсолютною протилежністю до Бога в трактуванні негативістичної теології Псевдо-Діонісія Ареопагіта, який жив у п'ятому сторіччі, згідно з якою, Бог — це суб'єкт без предикатів, оскільки його велич не дає змоги взагалі щось сказати про нього. Виходить, що є всі підстави стверджувати, що Гітлер у системі негативістичної теології являє собою Диявола — на відміну від офіційної позитивістичної теології Августина і Томи Аквінського".
Я люблю філософію, але навіть для мене це було занадто і, як сказала героїня цієї книги: "Так багато слів для такої нікчеми".
Коротка розповідь про вигаданого сина гітлера зайняла всього-навсього близько 50 сторінок із 150. І назвати її дуже цікавою я не можу. Сподобався хіба щоденник Еви Браун про її та гітлерові останні дні в зруйнованому і палаючому Берліні. Дуже хочеться прочитати подібний щоденник, писаний аліною кабаєвою у зруйнованій дощенту москві.
Зовсім не такі були мої очікування від цієї книги, але штош
"Таким чином, Гітлер є абсолютною протилежністю до Бога в трактуванні негативістичної теології Псевдо-Діонісія Ареопагіта, який жив у п'ятому сторіччі, згідно з якою, Бог — це суб'єкт без предикатів, оскільки його велич не дає змоги взагалі щось сказати про нього. Виходить, що є всі підстави стверджувати, що Гітлер у системі негативістичної теології являє собою Диявола — на відміну від офіційної позитивістичної теології Августина і Томи Аквінського".
Я люблю філософію, але навіть для мене це було занадто і, як сказала героїня цієї книги: "Так багато слів для такої нікчеми".
Коротка розповідь про вигаданого сина гітлера зайняла всього-навсього близько 50 сторінок із 150. І назвати її дуже цікавою я не можу. Сподобався хіба щоденник Еви Браун про її та гітлерові останні дні в зруйнованому і палаючому Берліні. Дуже хочеться прочитати подібний щоденник, писаний аліною кабаєвою у зруйнованій дощенту москві.
Зовсім не такі були мої очікування від цієї книги, але штош
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 19, 2025
Ietwat narcistische self-insert van de auteur Rudolf Herter reist naar Wenen om interviews te geven over zijn meest recente boek. In Wenen raakt hij geobsedeerd met de Führer, en leert hij een duister geheim van hem kennen. Dit culmineert uiteindelijk in een realiteits-brekend stukje esoterisch Hitlerisme. Nietzsche is ook betrokken.
4.5/5
4.5/5
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. 😭
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