EAN: 9781787303065

THE ASCENT - STEFAN HERTMANS KARTONIERT (TB)

In the first year of the new millennium  a book came into my hands from which I learned that
for twenty years I had lived in the house of a former SS man.The dazzling new novel by Stefan
Hertmans  author of the modern classic War and Turpentine.'A powerful and humane reminder that
the horrors of the past century are inexhaustibly fascinating and reverberate today.' Observer
In 1979  Stefan Hertmans fell in love with a beautiful dilapidated old house in Ghent in
Belgium  which he lovingly rescued from decay  as it became his peaceful sanctuary. Now  all
these years later  he learns that a bust of Hitler once sat on the mantelpiece  and a war
criminal relaxed in its rooms with his family.This shocking discovery sends Hertmans off to the
archives and to interview next of kin  to uncover the secrets of the house and reimagine this
man's life and expose the atrocities he's responsible for. We see Willem Verhulst as a weak 
narcissistic man who climbed high in the ranks of the SS  a fascinating and chilling case study
for the cruel and perverse mentality of the Nazis.A story of war  family  and individual fate 
The Ascent portrays the deep tragedy of Flemish collaboration during World War Two. Hertmans
masterfully brings history and the house to life  as he appears in the novel as a trusted guide
and imagines individual lives to tell the greater European story.Translated from the Dutch by
David McKayPraise for War and Turpentine'All the marking of a future classic.' Neel Mukherjee 
Guardian'Staggering richness of language. Mesmerising from page one'. Simon Schama'Masterpiece
an accolade often casually bestowed  really does describe this magnificent book.' Sunday Times
Book of the Year'A masterly book.' New York Times  10 Best Books of the Year

Aktuelle Preise zur EAN 9781787303065

Produktinformationen zur 9781787303065