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livsliterarynook 's review for:
The Assault
by Harry Mulisch
I managed to read The Assault in one sitting over the space of a couple of hours, so it's not a long or difficult novel. However, it's quite a sad novel. I was actually surprised that I was interested enough to read the whole thing at once, but I think that helped me finish it. It's one of those novels that if I had set it aside, I would likely never have picked it up again. That is because the story is not particularly exciting.
The premise of the story, is that it follows one man, Anton and how one event in the war impacts on the rest of his life. The event, is the 'assault' that the title refer to right at the start of the novel. Then every section of the novel afterwards is at set periods of his life, where we catch up and meet various people who were involved in the 'assault' and discover more about the events and motivations that drove them through the war. In this sense, it made it quite interesting to have different viewpoints unveiled at various points of his life.
The book is by a famous Dutch author, and I read the English translation for a Dutch culture class I'm taking. However, I think the topic of WWII is still very important and problematic for Dutch society because they were both an occupied nation and had collaborations with the German Nazis. Therefore, I think this book is an important part of the memory and impact the war had upon the Dutch and how they still feel about the events. And for that reason, I think Harry Mulisch portrays the events throughout this book in a very admirable fashion. He manages to be careful of feelings, by laying down the events from all sides of the story and this makes for a well-rounded novel.
After reading this, I have to say, I feel less inclined to visiting Haarlem, just because that was where it was set and now it feels like a place of horror. However, overall, I think this book is a moving, disturbing portrayal of how one war event could impact so much on the future of a family. It demonstrates how we should not forget our history, and whilst I will never read it again and would not have picked it up unless for class, I'm glad in a way I got to read it.
The premise of the story, is that it follows one man, Anton and how one event in the war impacts on the rest of his life. The event, is the 'assault' that the title refer to right at the start of the novel. Then every section of the novel afterwards is at set periods of his life, where we catch up and meet various people who were involved in the 'assault' and discover more about the events and motivations that drove them through the war. In this sense, it made it quite interesting to have different viewpoints unveiled at various points of his life.
The book is by a famous Dutch author, and I read the English translation for a Dutch culture class I'm taking. However, I think the topic of WWII is still very important and problematic for Dutch society because they were both an occupied nation and had collaborations with the German Nazis. Therefore, I think this book is an important part of the memory and impact the war had upon the Dutch and how they still feel about the events. And for that reason, I think Harry Mulisch portrays the events throughout this book in a very admirable fashion. He manages to be careful of feelings, by laying down the events from all sides of the story and this makes for a well-rounded novel.
After reading this, I have to say, I feel less inclined to visiting Haarlem, just because that was where it was set and now it feels like a place of horror. However, overall, I think this book is a moving, disturbing portrayal of how one war event could impact so much on the future of a family. It demonstrates how we should not forget our history, and whilst I will never read it again and would not have picked it up unless for class, I'm glad in a way I got to read it.