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25th out of 187 books
—
155 voters
Siegfried
A distinguished Dutch author, Rudolf Herter, is in Vienna, having been invited to read from his new masterwork. In a television interview, he muses about Vienna's most notorious son, asserting that it is only through fiction that the uniquely evil figure of Hitler may be truly comprehended. After the reading, he is approached by an elderly couple, the Falks, who have a sto...more
213 pages
Published
(first published 2001)
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Todo parte de la pregunta ¿Y si Hitler hubiera tenido un hijo?
Un autor holandés (alter ego de Mulisch?) interesado y marcado por la Segunda Guerra Mundial y por la figura de Hitler, poseedor de una información privilegiada, decide escribir una historia que refleje de una vez por todas la esencia del gran dictador. Con esta excusa, Mulisch construye una historia que engancha y sorprende, y al mismo tiempo nos da su visión sobre el nihilismo absoluto de la figura de Hitler.
Magnífico!
Un autor holandés (alter ego de Mulisch?) interesado y marcado por la Segunda Guerra Mundial y por la figura de Hitler, poseedor de una información privilegiada, decide escribir una historia que refleje de una vez por todas la esencia del gran dictador. Con esta excusa, Mulisch construye una historia que engancha y sorprende, y al mismo tiempo nos da su visión sobre el nihilismo absoluto de la figura de Hitler.
Magnífico!
Mulisch begins his tale on a sour note, creating a protagonist who is seemingly the perfect embodiment of manhood. He is kind, gentle, sensitive, hyper-intelligent, loved and admired by the masses and the critics alike and clearly a stand-in for Mulisch himself. The novel then surprises the reader by allowing a bit of vulnerability to creep into this arrogant and unlikeable man, and establishes a powerful emotional core to the tale when he encounters an elderly couple in possession of the greate...more
The premise of this Mulisch novel is that Hitler and Eva Braun had a son, named Siegfried, a fact that only an aged couple in Austria still knows. The couple conveys this secret to Rudolf Herter, a famous Dutch writer who is the central character of the novel. Herter has long been convinced that biographical and psychological attempts to explain Hitler have all failed and that Hitler can only be meaningfully accessed through fiction. The secret about Hitler's son, which falls into his lap, enabl...more
This remarkable book explores a fantastical story in which Hitler can be caught. Caught by the arts and theology; where history, politics, psychology and philosophy could not grasp the mystery that is Hitler.
A well written book with references to all kinds of arts and philosophies that are reminiscent of the style in which Chesterton builds an argument. With the same whimsical play of words and idioms that make the reader understand exactly what is being said without having it written explicitly...more
A well written book with references to all kinds of arts and philosophies that are reminiscent of the style in which Chesterton builds an argument. With the same whimsical play of words and idioms that make the reader understand exactly what is being said without having it written explicitly...more
Je moet er natuurlijk even doorheen prikken dat Mulisch was wie hij was (o sorry, hij is onsterfelijk meen ik. Is wie hij is), en hij vond (vind) zich redelijk geweldig. Zo is ook zijn alter ego Rudolf Herter gewoon een Ontstellend Geweldige Man en dat Herter Mulisch is, mag wel duidelijk zijn. Maar het zij hem vergeven en ik moet er wel om lachen. En dat hij een groot schrijver is, bewijst dit boek. Het pakte me van begin tot eind en houdt je toch wel flink bezig na belezing. De conclusie waart...more
This is a hard one to rate. It is well written and thought provoking, however the subject is of course dark and at times the material is overly erudite. The main character is not exactly likable, and there are times where it is difficult to tell whether what is being said is by the author of the book or the character who is an author. This may actually be due to the author forgetting himself that the ideas he personally wishes to express are actually supposed to be those of his character. It is...more
The main premise in this novel is that fantasy is not to be understood, it is a tool for understanding. Therefore, to understand the mystery of Hitler's character you need to involve him in a fantasy. It turns out that Mulisch imagines a son for Hitler and the way Hitler treats his OWN hypothetical son is the key to his character. Smooth narrative line with some interesting insights: psychologists can't understand dictators, philosophers and theologians can, Hitler is absolute negation, the fasc...more
It begins as the story of Rudolf Herter, an internationally renowned Dutch author (funnily enough, he bears a striking similarity to one Harry Mulisch). Like Mulisch, Herter has an Austrian heritage behind his Dutch citizenship, a father who was too close to the Nazis in occupied Holland, and high esteem as an author. More importantly for this tale, both share preoccupation with the phenomenon of Hitler.
Mulisch/Herter feels he hasn't grasped the subject of Hitler. Indeed, it is clear that he be...more
Mulisch/Herter feels he hasn't grasped the subject of Hitler. Indeed, it is clear that he be...more
Je suis dubitative après la lecture de ce court roman. Le livre commence plutôt bien, mais là où le personnage de l’écrivain devrait nous entraîner dans ses questionnements, j’ai décroché complètement. Il déblatère une suite de remarques philosophiques dans son dictaphone. Alors je sais bien que je manque de culture et de références philosophiques, mais là, je n’ai rien compris à son délire. Soit je n’ai pas perçu la nouveauté dans ses propos, soit je suis totalement bouchée. Étant malade depuis...more
"A famed author on a book tour in Vienna remarks in a TV interview that he is thinking of writing a fictional book about the mystery that was Hitler. An elderly couple approaches him afterward to tell him they knew Hitler: they were his house staff at Berchtesgaden and were foster parents to Siegfried, the son of Hitler & Eva Braun! Thus begins an astonishing story of the power of one man and the evil he embodied."
DB/Reference Emerita
DB/Reference Emerita
De combinatie van ideeën en verhaal werkt hier veel minder goed dan bij bijvoorbeeld de Ontdekking van de Hemel. Verhaal wordt omslachtig vanuit een schrijver verteld wat het verhaal minder spannend maakt. Daarnaast struikel ik over onnatuurlijke dialogen, enigszins afstekend naast de filosofische monologen. Het idee om Hitler te wreken door hem te vangen in de fantasie van de schrijver is daarmee voor mij niet overtuigend genoeg.
So the blurb on the flap has a spoiler. Nice. Anyway looking at the author's picture I want to slap the smug off of his face because this is a travesty of a book. "It was not of world-historical significance but it was earth shattering." "Herter's mouth fell open. Where was he? This could not be true!....So it happened after all? It just wasn't thinkable! And why, why did it have to happen?" I hate you Harry.
I was about to give this four stars, because the idea behind it and the explanations about the (non-)personality of Hitler were really really interesting and I could even follow all of the philosophy thanks to my classes. But the ending was very predictable and made me realize that I didn't care for the main character at all. Also, and I have this feeling a lot when I read Dutch literature, the dialogue seems really forced and unnatural (when it's not meant to be like that).
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Čtyři části, které čtenáře provedou Mulischovým Siegfriedem jsou si vzájemně dost nepodobné. První představuje v uvolněném tempu starého spisovatele na jeho propagační cestě, druhá je hutné vyprávění manželů, kteří byli za války nepříjemně blízko Hitlerovi (už tady materiál houstne), třetí část je zběsilá filozofická smršť, kterou je fascinující, ale zároveň neskutečně těžké se prodrat k poslední části - fiktivnímu výňatku z deníku Evy Braunové. Závěrečný dovětek nás sice vrací ke spisovateli, a...more
Books about Hitler I guess will always incite our imagination. This is mostly because he escapes all logic when trying to explain his facts and the society he tried to build.
The novel is therefore speculating about the fact what will happen if Hitler and Eva Brown had a child called Siegfried. Of course the child of the man that brought Europe in the state of ruin and proved to be the biggest threat to freedom, could not be anything else than the heir of his father. Or at least he has the potent...more
The novel is therefore speculating about the fact what will happen if Hitler and Eva Brown had a child called Siegfried. Of course the child of the man that brought Europe in the state of ruin and proved to be the biggest threat to freedom, could not be anything else than the heir of his father. Or at least he has the potent...more
Jan 14, 2011
Bert Edens
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction
The premise of this book is that Hitler and Eva Braun have a child, but since Hitler was to appear to be for all women in Germany, the child is given to another couple to raise. Where it goes from there is a spoiler, so I won't go there.
The book is very accurate with some of the surrounding details, so that is good. It also has a nice philosophical angle toward the end. Definitely a good quick read.
The book is very accurate with some of the surrounding details, so that is good. It also has a nice philosophical angle toward the end. Definitely a good quick read.
I read it for school and it was a good book to read. The story is interesting and not too long. The whole Nietzche part was very difficult though and it didn't interest me that much. I did like everything about Hitler and Eva Braun's life. It was interesting to read an inside story.
3 stars because it was a good read and I did in enjoy it. but it wasn't really my thing.
3 stars because it was a good read and I did in enjoy it. but it wasn't really my thing.
Heel verwarrend boek. Het is zo goed geschreven dat je denkt dat het werkelijk is gebeurd. Ik heb ook een tijd lang gedacht (ik las dit boek toen ik 16 was) dat Hitler echt een zoon had.
I gave this book a five not because it is one that I would recommend to all my friends but for the depth of the feelings,emotions and questions it provoked in me.
"Herter sighed. How could one not love mankind? Here an anonymous Viennese taxi driver was listening to the piano playing of his dead father, which he had doubtless taped himself."
"Herter sighed. How could one not love mankind? Here an anonymous Viennese taxi driver was listening to the piano playing of his dead father, which he had doubtless taped himself."
Jul 08, 2011
Lioba
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
own,
death,
crime,
holocaust,
read-2011,
read-in-german,
romance,
whimsical,
thrillers
Very intriguing made-up story that could as well have been true. If it had been as thrilling in the beginning and in the middle of the book as it became towards the end (with Eva Braun's fictional diary entries) I would have given it at least 4 stars.
An imaginative, complex and riveting "insight" into the mind of the most horrible mass murderer in history (Hitler), telling a story of heartbreak after heartbreak.
Interessant fantasietje over de vermeende zoon van Hitler, maar toch niet helemaal evenwichtig: vooral de 20p over Nietzsche en Hitler zijn ongenietbaar.
A tired premise buoyed (just a little) by good writing. The main character is self-referential, pompous, condescending, and misogynistic... As is the writer.
I loved the story. It was clear and very intriguing. Besides that it did contain philosophy, that's what gave it an extra dimension.
Interessant boek. Een aantal delen van het boek vond ik door de stijl wat lastige om te lezen.
I think I should read more WWII stuff since I enjoyed this a lot. Especially the parts of Eva Braun. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it since it's way better than the love stories/teen angst that I seem to be reading a lot these days.
Read this a few years ago...absolutely a one day goodread.
a lot about Hitler's private estate
Amust read about the son of Hitler.
Best ever!
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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 has 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...more
More about Harry Mulisch...
Mulisch was born in Haarlem and has 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...more
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“All cows were like other cows, all tigers like all other tigers - What on earth happened to human beings?”
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