Forostar
Ancient Mariner
To all of you, please don't forget to check the question at the bottom of this post. I'm curious. 
The following (compiled by me from various sources) is about Harry Mulisch.
Yesterday it came in the news that Harry Mulish (1927-2010) died. Mulish was the last of the "Great Three" authors from the Netherlands, together with W.F. Hermans (1921-1995) and Gerard Reve (1923-2006).
Most famous works
Famous books are De Aanslag (The Assault) (1982: translated in more than 30 languages) and De ontdekking van de Hemel (The Discovery of Heaven) (1992). The latter describes the intense friendship between two men and the mystical journey of another to return to Heaven the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. In 2007 the Dutch chose this book as the best Dutch book of all times. The first deals with the consequences for the lone survivor of a Nazi retaliation on an innocent family after a collaborator named Fake Ploeg is found killed outside their home.
WWII
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: Criminal Case 40/61.
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 claimed that he was the Second World War.
Translations
Some of his most popular translated books are The Assault (1982), The Discovery of Heaven (1992), The procedure (1998) and Siegfried (2000). In Germany his books are best-sellers, with runs of 250,000 copies. Maria Vlaar, of the Literature Fund, which finances and promotes translations of Dutch works, says German translations of Mulisch’s work need no subsidies. “In English he also has many readers but less so in other languages. Nonetheless, in many countries he is read passionately and beautifully edited”.
In addition to World War II and the Holocaust, his major themes include Greek and Roman mythology, the natural sciences, the 1960s student revolt, the Cold War and boys' adventure stories. Mulisch himself, however, cautioned that the theme of a book matters less than its form. Interviewed on the occasion of his 70th birthday, he said: “It doesn’t matter so much what a book is about as how it is written.”
Dissecting table
Writer Marcel Möring sees one overarching concern in Mulisch: “More importantly, what lies behind those themes, is an attempt to analyse the world by means of the story. Mulisch in a way is a literary lab technician. That’s what he really does in his books: he puts the world on the dissecting table of his desk, tries to take it apart and then puts it back together. That, to me, is the core of his work.”
Möring, moreover, emphasises the multi-facetted nature of Mulisch’s work: “It’s incredibly unpredictable: he explored so many styles. I find that fascinating. That’s what makes him unique among Dutch writers since World War II. He did everything and dared to tackle anything. It’s admirable, because that’s what a writer needs. A writer needs to risk failure.”
Nobel Prize
In Holland, Mulisch has often been seen as a potential candidate for the Nobel Literature Prize. Just as often, the suggestion was dismissed as unwarranted. Möring is angered by such condescension: “If you look at a list of those who won the prize, Mulisch wouldn’t be out of place. I at least wouldn’t find it strange or undeserved at all. Dario Fo won the prize, as did Orhan Pamuk, the man of a single beautiful book. I can easily think of several books of Mulisch that I frankly find better.”
“Outside Holland, Mulisch is unquestionably regarded as one of Europe’s great writers”, says Maria Vlaar of the Literature Fund. “In The New Yorker, The Discovery of Heaven was reviewed by John Updike, who compared him with Homer, James Joyce, Umberto Eco and Thomas Mann”.
Ms Vlaar often accompanied Mulisch during literary appearances abroad. “He used to be announced as the candidate for the Nobel prize—without the least irony. It’s rather remarkable to see he does have such prestige elsewhere.”
Casino
Mulisch himself seemed indifferent to winning the top award. “It’s a casino”, he said in 2009. “One can say: such and such is the best physicist or the best economist. But the best writer? Such a thing doesn’t exist. For you it’s this writer, whereas for me or others it’s somebody else.”
I admit that I haven't read much yet of these so called greatest writers. I do know one film (the beforementioned De Aanslag which was pretty exciting), based on Mulisch' book and I have read one book by W.F. Hermans:
De donkere kamer van Damokles/The Darkroom of Damocles.
Question: Which post-WWII authors are considered as the greatest in your country? Which themes were in their work? Should other writers deserve at least as much praise in your opinion? Do you have a favourite book of one of these authors?
@Perun: Is Joachim Fest one of the Great post WWII authors of Germany?
The following (compiled by me from various sources) is about Harry Mulisch.
Yesterday it came in the news that Harry Mulish (1927-2010) died. Mulish was the last of the "Great Three" authors from the Netherlands, together with W.F. Hermans (1921-1995) and Gerard Reve (1923-2006).
Most famous works
Famous books are De Aanslag (The Assault) (1982: translated in more than 30 languages) and De ontdekking van de Hemel (The Discovery of Heaven) (1992). The latter describes the intense friendship between two men and the mystical journey of another to return to Heaven the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. In 2007 the Dutch chose this book as the best Dutch book of all times. The first deals with the consequences for the lone survivor of a Nazi retaliation on an innocent family after a collaborator named Fake Ploeg is found killed outside their home.
WWII
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: Criminal Case 40/61.
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 claimed that he was the Second World War.
Translations
Some of his most popular translated books are The Assault (1982), The Discovery of Heaven (1992), The procedure (1998) and Siegfried (2000). In Germany his books are best-sellers, with runs of 250,000 copies. Maria Vlaar, of the Literature Fund, which finances and promotes translations of Dutch works, says German translations of Mulisch’s work need no subsidies. “In English he also has many readers but less so in other languages. Nonetheless, in many countries he is read passionately and beautifully edited”.
In addition to World War II and the Holocaust, his major themes include Greek and Roman mythology, the natural sciences, the 1960s student revolt, the Cold War and boys' adventure stories. Mulisch himself, however, cautioned that the theme of a book matters less than its form. Interviewed on the occasion of his 70th birthday, he said: “It doesn’t matter so much what a book is about as how it is written.”
Dissecting table
Writer Marcel Möring sees one overarching concern in Mulisch: “More importantly, what lies behind those themes, is an attempt to analyse the world by means of the story. Mulisch in a way is a literary lab technician. That’s what he really does in his books: he puts the world on the dissecting table of his desk, tries to take it apart and then puts it back together. That, to me, is the core of his work.”
Möring, moreover, emphasises the multi-facetted nature of Mulisch’s work: “It’s incredibly unpredictable: he explored so many styles. I find that fascinating. That’s what makes him unique among Dutch writers since World War II. He did everything and dared to tackle anything. It’s admirable, because that’s what a writer needs. A writer needs to risk failure.”
Nobel Prize
In Holland, Mulisch has often been seen as a potential candidate for the Nobel Literature Prize. Just as often, the suggestion was dismissed as unwarranted. Möring is angered by such condescension: “If you look at a list of those who won the prize, Mulisch wouldn’t be out of place. I at least wouldn’t find it strange or undeserved at all. Dario Fo won the prize, as did Orhan Pamuk, the man of a single beautiful book. I can easily think of several books of Mulisch that I frankly find better.”
“Outside Holland, Mulisch is unquestionably regarded as one of Europe’s great writers”, says Maria Vlaar of the Literature Fund. “In The New Yorker, The Discovery of Heaven was reviewed by John Updike, who compared him with Homer, James Joyce, Umberto Eco and Thomas Mann”.
Ms Vlaar often accompanied Mulisch during literary appearances abroad. “He used to be announced as the candidate for the Nobel prize—without the least irony. It’s rather remarkable to see he does have such prestige elsewhere.”
Casino
Mulisch himself seemed indifferent to winning the top award. “It’s a casino”, he said in 2009. “One can say: such and such is the best physicist or the best economist. But the best writer? Such a thing doesn’t exist. For you it’s this writer, whereas for me or others it’s somebody else.”
I admit that I haven't read much yet of these so called greatest writers. I do know one film (the beforementioned De Aanslag which was pretty exciting), based on Mulisch' book and I have read one book by W.F. Hermans:
De donkere kamer van Damokles/The Darkroom of Damocles.
Question: Which post-WWII authors are considered as the greatest in your country? Which themes were in their work? Should other writers deserve at least as much praise in your opinion? Do you have a favourite book of one of these authors?
@Perun: Is Joachim Fest one of the Great post WWII authors of Germany?
