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adam_mcphee 's review for:
The Darkroom of Damocles
by Willem Frederik Hermans
The first half is one of the best spy thrillers I've ever read. Osewoudt, a young tobacconist, gets involved in the Dutch Resistance and goes on one harrowing mission after another, culminating in an assassination attempt that involves a co-conspirator drawing out a collaborator's child while dressed as a Nazi Youth.
The second half is an existential nightmare. Osewoudt's secrecy during the war makes it impossible to prove who he is to the victorious Allies. The upheaval causes witnesses to disappear and altered Nazi documents are given more weight than a man's testimony.
The ending was the only part that was a bit of a letdown, if only because it seemed to have a resolution, when the nature of this story shouldn't allow for one. Or rather, the narrative seems to side with one possibility at the expense of another, though I suppose it doesn't outright disallow it. I don't know. I choose to believe Dorbeck is still out there...
The second half is an existential nightmare. Osewoudt's secrecy during the war makes it impossible to prove who he is to the victorious Allies. The upheaval causes witnesses to disappear and altered Nazi documents are given more weight than a man's testimony.
The ending was the only part that was a bit of a letdown, if only because it seemed to have a resolution, when the nature of this story shouldn't allow for one. Or rather, the narrative seems to side with one possibility at the expense of another, though I suppose it doesn't outright disallow it. I don't know. I choose to believe Dorbeck is still out there...