The Assault

The classic that sold over 200,000 copies in the Netherlands: a richly crafted novel of post-war innocence and guilt

An instant classic challenging notions of post-war innocence and guilt that sold over 200,000 copies on first publication in DutchA timeless classic from the author of The Discovery of Heaven 'Fuelled with energy, drama and emotional weight, combined with a light touch and a fast-moving story. Grab it while you can' Times 'Acknowledged as Holland's finest novelist' Guardian 'Mulisch is a rarity ... an instinctively psychological novelist' John Updike In the bitter final months of the Second World War, the body of a Dutch Nazi collaborator is found on the doorstep of an ordinary family home. The repercussions are complex and terrible: the family is killed and the house burned to the ground; only the twelve-year-old son, Anton, survives. Following Anton as he reckons with this trauma through his life, The Assault is a powerful excavation of resistance and the collateral damage wrought on innocent people in times of war. A runaway bestseller that sold 200,000 copies on first publication, this is a classic of Dutch literature from one of the greatest European writers of his time. With an introduction by Thomas Harding, author of Hanns and Rudolf