Harry Mulisch
Harry Mulisch was a prominent Dutch author, born on July 29, 1927, in Haarlem, Netherlands. His early life was profoundly affected by the traumas of World War II, particularly the loss of family members in concentration camps, which deeply influenced his literary themes. Mulisch began writing during a break from school due to the war and published his first novel, *Archibald Strohalm*, in 1952, winning a literary prize. He gained international acclaim with *Het stenen bruidsbed* (1959), which explored the psychological scars of war through the story of an American bomber pilot returning to Dresden.
His most famous work, *De aanslag* (1982), tells a complex tale of betrayal during the war and has been translated into over thirty languages. Mulisch's writing is noted for its intellectual depth, experimental style, and the incorporation of contemporary political issues, reflecting his liberal views. Throughout his career, he authored thirteen novels and numerous other works, including plays and essays, earning accolades such as the Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren in 1995. Mulisch passed away on November 7, 2010, leaving behind a legacy that continues to resonate in Dutch literature.
Harry Mulisch
Dutch novelist, short fiction writer, essayist, and nonfiction writer.
- Born: July 29, 1927
- Birthplace: Haarlem, the Netherlands
- Died: October 30, 2010
- Place of death:Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Biography
Dutch author Harry Mulisch was born in Haarlem, Netherlands, on July 29, 1927. His grandmother and great-grandmother, who were Jewish, both died in German concentration camps during World War II, and while Mulisch himself was not deported due to his father's influence, he was forced to leave school in 1944. His father, who died in 1957, was an official at a bank controlled by the Germans; he was imprisoned as a Nazi collaborator after World War II. These troubling early experiences shaped much of Mulisch’s later fiction, especially his novel De aanslag (1982; The Assault, 1985), which tells the story of the betrayal of one family by another during the war. Over the course of the narrative, which spans many years, the reason for this betrayal is gradually revealed to the only surviving member of the betrayed family. Perhaps Mulicsch’s most popular work, it was translated into more than thirty languages and made into a film in 1985.
Mulisch started writing during an hiatus in his educational pursuits brought about by the outbreak of World War II. Much of his writing, which is characterized by verbose intellectualism, experimentalism, and dark humor, describes the debilitating psychological effects of war on the individual. His first novel, Archibald Strohalm, was published in 1952, and it won a literary prize. He achieved international acclaim after the publication in 1959 of his novel Het stenen bruidsbed (The Stone Bridal Bed, 1962), which tells the story of an American bomber pilot who returns to the German city of Dresden many years after the massive Allied firebombing of that city.
Liberal in his politics, Mulisch became a member of Amsterdam’s New Left during the 1960s, and he often incorporated contemporary political issues into his fiction. His 1975 novel Twee vrouwen (Two Women, 1980) was made into a film in 1979; it tells the story of a romance between two women. His other novels include Hoogste tijd (1985; Last Call, 1987), De pupil (1987; The Pupil, 1989), and De ontdekking van de hemel (1992; The Discovery of Heaven, 1996). De ontdekking van de hemel was voted the best Dutch-language book of all time in a nationwide poll in 2007. Mulisch also wrote plays, short stories, poetry, and essays. In total, he published thirteen novels and twenty other books over the course of his life. He was awarded the prestigious Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren (Award for Dutch Literature) in 1995.
Mulisch died of cancer on November 7, 2010, at his home in Amsterdam. He was eighty-three years old. Two novels, De tijd zelf (2011; "Time itself") and De ontdekking van Moskou (2015, "The discovery of Moscow"), were published posthumously.
Author Works
Long Fiction:
Archibald Strohalm, 1952
Tussen hamer en aambeeld, 1952
De diamant, 1954
De sprong der paarden en de zoete zee, 1955
Het zwarte licht, 1957
Het stenen bruidsbed, 1959 (The Stone Bridal Bed, 1962)
De verteller of een idioticon voor zegelbewaarders, 1970
Twee vrouwen, 1975 (Two Women, 1980)
De aanslag, 1982 (The Assault, 1985)
Hoogste tijd, 1985 (Last Call, 1987)
De pupil, 1987 (The Pupil, 1989)
De elementen, 1988
De ontdekking van de hemel, 1992 (The Discovery of Heaven, 1996)
De procedure, 1998 (The Procedure, 2001)
Het theater, de brief en de waarheid, 2000
Siegfried, 2001
De tijd zelf, 2011
De ontdekking van Moskou, 2015
Short Fiction:
Chantage op het leven, 1953
Het mirakel, 1955
Oude lucht, 1977
De kamer, 1984
Het beeld en de klok, 1989
Nonfiction:
Manifesten, 1958
Voer voor psychologen, 1961
Wenken voor de bescherming van uw gezin en uzelf, tijdens de jongste dag, 1961
De zaak 40/61, 1963
Bericht aan de Rattenkoning, 1966
Wenken voor de Jongste Dag, 1967
Het woord bij de daad, 1968
Reconstructie, 1969
Paralipomena Orphica, 1970
De toekomst van gisteren, 1972
Mijn getijdenboek, 1975
De compositie van de wereld, 1980
Poetry:
Woorden, woorden, woorden, 1973
De vogels, 1974
Tegenlicht, 1975
Kind en Kraai, 1975
De wijn is drinkbaar dankzij het glas, 1976
Opus Gran, 1982
Drama:
Tanchelijn, 1960
De knop, 1961
Oidipous Oidipous, 1972
Bibliography
"Harry Mulisch." The Telegraph, 2 Nov. 2010, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/books-obituaries/8105824/Harry-Mulisch.html. Accessed 21 Apr. 2016.
Hawtree, Christopher. "Harry Mulisch: Novelist Whose Work Was Suffused with His Memories of the Nazi Occupation of the Netherlands." The Independent, 22 Nov. 2010, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/harry-mulisch-novelist-whose-work-was-suffused-with-his-memories-of-the-nazi-occupation-of-the-2141068.html. Accessed 21 Apr. 2016.
Horspool, David. "Harry Mulisch: Mining the Past." The Guardian, 28 Nov. 2003, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/nov/29/fiction. Accessed 28 June 2017.
Simmons, Marlise. "Harry Mulisch, Dutch Novelist, Dies at 83." The New York Times, 31 Oct. 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/books/01mulisch.html. Accessed 21 Apr. 2016.