- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (1 Feb 1990)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140116613
- ISBN-13: 978-0140116618
- Product Dimensions: 19 x 12.6 x 2.2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,802,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The hero of this novel, Uli Bouwmeester, is, at 78, the last survivor of a famous Dutch theatrical family. The author is regarded as one of Holland's foremost writers, and his previous book, "The Assault", was made into a film which won an Oscar for best foreign film in 1987.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.co.uk.
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
dazzling! Total theatre; total literature. Magic winding plo
26 Jun 1999
Format:Paperback
Mulisch accomplished here again a dazzling novel. It is theatre withing theatre. In intricate winding of lives, the old actor, Uli Bouwmeester performs his last role of the last role of the older actor de Vries in Shakespeares Tempest, Prospero.As magically as Prospero, the author weaves places, situations, characters, times, events in moving, twirling, engaging tapestry. In reference to Poe's "Narratives ..of Pym" the ending takes the reader through the life transforming and time transcending narratives of the protagonist. The novel unfolds with the clarity of greek tragedy. But even more than these (after all 3000 years of development) it provides rare glimpses of insight into the deeper issues of life.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Pretentious and turgid
23 Sep 2011
Format:Paperback
This is a somewhat over-complicated novel revealing the flawed and somewhat unappealing central character through the story-line. The theatrical setting is well defined and several of the characters - Willem (Uli) himself and Berta his sister for instance - are well-drawn.
But Harry Mulisch is indeed someone who sometimes needs to hide his high intelligence and he fails to do so in this book. By turns bewildering and banal, the reader is left wondering what exactly is the point which Mulisch is getting at. The skill with which Mulisch executes the five "acts" has little corrolary in content: it's as if it is all form and little substance. Above all, Mulisch fails to make us really care about Uli; the focus shifts to Berta who is revealed as a more sympathetic and interesting figure.
Dixon's appalling translation does Mulisch no favours: some of her howlers must be incomprehensible to non-Dutch speakers ("everyone was hanging on her lips" springs to mind) and her intrusively nit-picking punctuation gives the prose a stop-start feel that makes reading clunky and awkward.
This is a book for Mulisch afficionados only.
But Harry Mulisch is indeed someone who sometimes needs to hide his high intelligence and he fails to do so in this book. By turns bewildering and banal, the reader is left wondering what exactly is the point which Mulisch is getting at. The skill with which Mulisch executes the five "acts" has little corrolary in content: it's as if it is all form and little substance. Above all, Mulisch fails to make us really care about Uli; the focus shifts to Berta who is revealed as a more sympathetic and interesting figure.
Dixon's appalling translation does Mulisch no favours: some of her howlers must be incomprehensible to non-Dutch speakers ("everyone was hanging on her lips" springs to mind) and her intrusively nit-picking punctuation gives the prose a stop-start feel that makes reading clunky and awkward.
This is a book for Mulisch afficionados only.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
