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An Untouched House
An Untouched House | Willem Frederik Hermans
6 posts | 6 read | 13 to read
A blisteringly powerful classic war story from one of the Netherlands' greatest writers WITH AN AFTERWORD BY CEES NOOTEBOOM 'The Dutch have hailed him as their greatest novelist, and now, slowly, Europe is getting to know him' Milan Kundera, Le Monde 'Bleak, hilarious, angry, ruthless... Hermans is as alarming as a snake in the breadbin... hugely entertaining' Scotsman Towards the end of the Second World War, a weary partisan fighting with the Red Army in Germany comes across a grand, abandoned house, seemingly untouched by the devastation sweeping the country. Exhausted, he falls asleep in the living room, but wakes to find a German patrol marching up the garden path. His only hope is to pose as the house's owner, but how will he keep up the pretence when the real owner returns? Dazzling, dark and scorchingly violent, with the breakneck pace of a thriller, this timeless classic is a vivid depiction of what happens when the mask of decency is cast aside in the savagery of war. 'A literary tour de force' Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 'A violent climax without equal in modern literature' Cees Nooteboom Willem Frederik Hermans (19211995) was one of the most prolific and versatile Dutch authors of the twentieth century. In 1977 he received the Dutch Literature Prize the most prestigious literary prize in the Netherlands. He is considered one of the three most important authors in the Netherlands in the postwar period, along with Harry Mulisch and Gerard Reve.
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swynn
swynn
An Untouched House | Willem Frederik Hermans
post image

My #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin for April are an unlikely pair: in the one hand a literary novella about desperate lives in wartime, translated from Dutch; on the other, urban fantasy featuring demigods and shapeshifters and vampires and who knows what all else.

Looking forward to both of course. Thanks @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Enjoy!! I read books 4 and 5 in the Kate Daniels series this month, so I may get to 6 and 7 in April haha 9mo
swynn @TheAromaofBooks It's such a fun series. Hope you like them, whenever you get to them! 9mo
TheAromaofBooks I was a little iffy on the first book, but I've just enjoyed them more and more as I go along!! 9mo
26 likes3 comments
review
BarbaraBB
BarbaraBB
An Untouched House | Willem Frederik Hermans
post image
Pickpick

In the last months of WWII a partisan enters an abandoned villa in a luxury seaside resort, somewhere in Central Europe. Initially it is a peaceful place to stay. When a German regiment arrives for quartering, he pretends he is the owner of the house and leaves the ground floor to the Germans. Then the real owner returns unexpectedly.

This is a novella of a deceptive simplicity, behind which lies a particularly complex constructed story.

Megabooks Great review! 3y
batsy Lovely review. I really liked this one in translation, as well. Just really well done in how it melds memory and imagery within the scope of language. 3y
BarbaraBB @batsy I remember your review and have meant to read the book ever since. 3y
78 likes4 stack adds3 comments
review
Lindy
Lindy
An Untouched House | Willem Frederik Hermans
post image
Pickpick

Told in the singular voice of a Dutch partisan who‘s fed up with the chaos of war and having no control over his life, this novella is one of the best depictions I‘ve read concerning the senselessness of war and how it can deform human minds. Clear, unsentimental prose #translated by David Colmer. #BlameitonLitsy or else BookTube.
(Image from the Archipelago edition cover is by Rene Magritte.)

tagged users iconshawnmooney, batsy
batsy I'm really glad that you found this a worthwhile read! 5y
Lindy @batsy So powerful! It‘s one that I will remember for a long time. 5y
47 likes2 stack adds2 comments
quote
Lindy
Lindy
An Untouched House | Willem Frederik Hermans
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“Culture gives no quarter! Extraordinary circumstances are only an excuse! Someone who gives in to extraordinary circumstances, nah! He is simply no longer a person of culture!”
I said nothing.
“In the last war the British barrage began one morning at 6:15. At 6:30 I began shaving. It was too dark in the trench, so I moved to higher ground. That cost me half my little finger. But at 7:30 I was sitting down to eat breakfast!”

29 likes1 stack add1 comment
quote
shawnmooney
shawnmooney
An Untouched House | Willem Frederik Hermans
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28 likes
review
batsy
batsy
An Untouched House | Willem Frederik Hermans
post image
Pickpick

Set during World War ll, this fever dream of a plotless novella has a Soviet Partisan soldier chancing upon an abandoned house. As the Nazis suddenly appear in his temporary sanctuary, he pretends to be the owner of the house—and the real owner shows up. The prose is beautiful in this Dutch classic, with startling moments of insight & imagery. The trauma of war, nihilism, & futility of the human condition makes it a tough & bleak read. #netgalley

batsy Translated from Dutch by David Colmer with a particularly insightful afterword by Cees Noteboom. 6y
TrishB Great review 👍🏻 6y
emilyhaldi Wow this sounds intense 😐 in a good way 6y
See All 16 Comments
batsy @TrishB Thank you :) 6y
batsy @emilyhaldi It is 😅 6y
Cathythoughts Great review... 💫💫💫 6y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Wow - sounds unusual- I need to get this. Thanks! 6y
Centique Beautiful review S! 😍 6y
batsy @Cathythoughts @Centique Thank you, ladies ❤️ 6y
batsy @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Yes, it is and hard to tell who will like it. Hope you find it interesting :) 6y
saresmoore I stacked this so fast! 6y
RohitSawant Terrific review! 🙌🏻 6y
batsy @saresmoore So bleak, Sara. #sorrowsisters 6y
batsy @rohit-sawant Thank you :) 6y
BarbaraBB Great review. I love that you read one of my favorite Dutch authors 💜 (edited) 6y
batsy @BarbaraBB Thank you! And happy to hear he's your fave. I'm so glad this is available in translation via Archipelago, and that Net Galley made it available :) 6y
101 likes6 stack adds16 comments