During WWII, a not particularly politically involved nor heroic young Dutch couple hides a Jewish man in the upstairs bedroom of their house. We learn at the very beginning that the man has died and the chapters go back and forth from their present situation to the one year period he occupied their house. This compact novel is written with such effortless prose,it can be read in one sitting. Francine Prose called the author (a retired psychiatrist who is still living at age 101!) a genius. An elegant, thoughtful and necessary read.