Title: De ontdekking van de hemel | The Discovery of Heaven - Harry Mulisch
Media: Book, there's a film but it's. Well, it's certainly a movie. Stephen Fry plays Onno at the author's request and he's good in the film, I just would've preferred like, a series with Dutch actors.
Approx length: ~900 pages
Where to find it: It's one of the best known Dutch novels and it's been translated into over twenty languages, so it should be very easy to find anywhere books are available. I have to assume there's audiobooks as well.
What is it, in summary?: Angels put things in motion to lead to the birth of a child who'll bring the Ten Commandments back to Heaven. We follow the lives of language genius rich Protestant kid Onno Quist, womanising astronomer Max Delius, and level-headed concert violinist Ada Brons through the political upheavals of 1960s-1990s Dutch life and their various interconnected emotional and romantic liaisons, as well as the upbringing of Quentin, the child resulting from these relationships, as he matures into a single-minded obsession with his divinely ordained goal. Occasionally, we return to the angels and hear their commentary on what's going on. There's a lot of travel and shades of magical realism.
What do you love about it?: It's often described as a "totaalroman," an all-encompassing story that touches on more themes than you can shake a stick at, but the writing style is really moreish and approachable and you get extremely invested in the characters. It's got drama, religion and philosophy, politics, insight into a period of the Netherlands I don't see covered in any non-Dutch media, etc. And it's often genuinely funny. Some stuff didn't age extremely well (like the ?plot point? of Dutch people not being reactionary/extremist, lol, or the Israel glazing) but it's 900 pages long. Can't win them all.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Onno/Max shenanigans tbhon, especially after the end of the book from Onno's perspective. There's a lot of "Onno and Max were so close people thought they were gay, and they wished they were! alas" that can serve as a good basis for Complicated Feelings or threesome/OT3 stuff with Ada. Also probably Quentin in situations, and the cosmic implications of the canon.
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: The book is divided into four sections but they're very interconnected and sequential, so not really. I appreciate that it's long, but it's an endeavour I honestly think is worth it. It's a gorgeous and complex story that imo is very inspirational if you're an artist/writer yourself.
Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): the aftermath of the Holocaust plays an important role, especially in Max's storyline, as he's the son of a Jewish woman and a guy who later became a Nazi officer. Mulisch was a Dutch Jew and has some really good/interesting observations on post-war Netherlands from that perspective, but I know dealing with those topics can be difficult for some people. Onno is the kind of guy who's sexist etc to provoke people because he likes to cause problems on purpose. A lot of hospital scenes with a character in a coma after a specific point. Infidelity.
De ontdekking van de hemel | The Discovery of Heaven - Harry Mulisch
Media: Book, there's a film but it's. Well, it's certainly a movie. Stephen Fry plays Onno at the author's request and he's good in the film, I just would've preferred like, a series with Dutch actors.
Approx length: ~900 pages
Where to find it: It's one of the best known Dutch novels and it's been translated into over twenty languages, so it should be very easy to find anywhere books are available. I have to assume there's audiobooks as well.
What is it, in summary?: Angels put things in motion to lead to the birth of a child who'll bring the Ten Commandments back to Heaven. We follow the lives of language genius rich Protestant kid Onno Quist, womanising astronomer Max Delius, and level-headed concert violinist Ada Brons through the political upheavals of 1960s-1990s Dutch life and their various interconnected emotional and romantic liaisons, as well as the upbringing of Quentin, the child resulting from these relationships, as he matures into a single-minded obsession with his divinely ordained goal. Occasionally, we return to the angels and hear their commentary on what's going on. There's a lot of travel and shades of magical realism.
What do you love about it?: It's often described as a "totaalroman," an all-encompassing story that touches on more themes than you can shake a stick at, but the writing style is really moreish and approachable and you get extremely invested in the characters. It's got drama, religion and philosophy, politics, insight into a period of the Netherlands I don't see covered in any non-Dutch media, etc. And it's often genuinely funny. Some stuff didn't age extremely well (like the ?plot point? of Dutch people not being reactionary/extremist, lol, or the Israel glazing) but it's 900 pages long. Can't win them all.
What sort of things are you likely to request for it?: Onno/Max shenanigans tbhon, especially after the end of the book from Onno's perspective. There's a lot of "Onno and Max were so close people thought they were gay, and they wished they were! alas" that can serve as a good basis for Complicated Feelings or threesome/OT3 stuff with Ada. Also probably Quentin in situations, and the cosmic implications of the canon.
Are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfil your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?: The book is divided into four sections but they're very interconnected and sequential, so not really. I appreciate that it's long, but it's an endeavour I honestly think is worth it. It's a gorgeous and complex story that imo is very inspirational if you're an artist/writer yourself.
Content warnings (ie, rape, incest, racism, gore/violence): the aftermath of the Holocaust plays an important role, especially in Max's storyline, as he's the son of a Jewish woman and a guy who later became a Nazi officer. Mulisch was a Dutch Jew and has some really good/interesting observations on post-war Netherlands from that perspective, but I know dealing with those topics can be difficult for some people. Onno is the kind of guy who's sexist etc to provoke people because he likes to cause problems on purpose. A lot of hospital scenes with a character in a coma after a specific point. Infidelity.