Oude lucht: drie verhalen

by Harry Mulisch

'De grens', 'Symmetrie' en 'Oude lucht'

Genres: Ebooks, Mystery, Criticism, Action, Literature, Dutch Literature

161 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Harry 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.

Reviews

[Eva]

Ik had nog nooit iets van Mulisch gelezen voor deze korte verhalenbundel (sorry), maar nu weet ik in ieder geval dat dit niet het laatste boek dat ik van hem lees gaat zijn. Mulisch is de meester van slotzinnen, weet ik nu ook. Meerdere keren hebben slotzinnen van verhalen of hoofdstukken me een traantje laten wegpinken.

De individuele verhalen beoordeel ik als volgt:
De grens - 4 sterren
Symmetrie - 5 sterren
Oude lucht - 3 sterren

[Tim Jansen]

Aardigheidje van mijn leerlingen uit havo 3. Zeker de moeite waard! Dank!

De Grens ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Symmetrie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Oude Lucht ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Laurens Monster]

1. mulisch doing a pathetic kafka larp

2. mulisch' semi-interesting musings on prague and symmetry

3. mulisch writing about men who have his books on their shelves, next to dostojevski and nietzsche...

[Jessica]

De grens - 5 sterren
Symmetrie - 3.5 sterren
Oude lucht - 4 sterren

[Jeanne]

Het verhaal De Grens is waanzinnig leuk. De andere twee verhalen wat minder boeiend.

[Finn Benjamins]

De grens -- 4 sterren
Symmetrie -- 2 sterren
Oude lucht -- 3 sterren

[Hermien]

Mijn eboek had alleen het verhaal De Grens en dat was erg amusant.

[Jolien]

1,5