Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch

As the days ahead of me gaped in a shock of emptiness, my husband asked "what's the matter? did you finish that smart-ass book?". Yes, that was it. I had raced through all 730 pages at breakneck speed and had suddenly stopped pestering him with complex philosophical questions in fits and starts thoughout the day. Bummer.

Discovery of Heaven was given to me by a family friend who was a member of my father's clever, beatnik clique at the University of Leiden. Such a snotty bunch! He said, in an offhand way, "it's been compared to Dante's Inferno", yikes.

This is a novel with a story and characters, but they are so busy talking and pondering that sometimes it feels more like a university course in twentieth century thought. And there's nothing wrong with that, if you don't mind feeling like a complete neophyte as astronomical questions tumble onto architectural history, rumbling next to music theory, linguistics, mythology, mathematics, and, the bit I found most of a struggle, religious ideology and history. Oh and mustn't forget philosophy and theology, perhaps some science fiction? And a hearty dose of mysticism.

It is woven together with inspired logic, witty characters and even suspense! We might just discover heaven, after all. There is an eerie understanding of the Dutch psyche and the imprint of recent history in that country. A good novel for anyone who worries that novels are frivolous, (like a Calvinist Dutch person might, eh Mom?) because this one isn't. Ideas from the book still bubble up in me (who can forget the historioscope?) as well as quotes from the super-verbal linguist Onno, like "ice cream is for vicars" and "water is for brushing teeth". Probably good to read it more than once. JL

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