The Discovery of Heaven - Interpretation

Interpretation

Harry Mulisch said that this book is his magnum opus. It is his best-known and best-selling work. It is his fourth work to be made into a film. It includes all the major themes form his earlier work: the Second World War, the Shoah, the Students' revolt of the sixties, Judaism, Philosophy and Jewish and Classical Mysticism. The War is given purpose through the actions of the Angels, and the Shoah remains a haunting dream for Mulisch. The students' revolt, in which Mulisch was an active participant, is described with much insight. Judaism, philosophy and mysticism are all blended with great complexity.

The book is also a homage to a friendship. Onno Quist is based on Hein Donner, a famous Dutch chessplayer and a close friend of Mulisch's who died some years before the Discovery of Heaven was published. He too came from a conservative political family and was a respected sight in Amsterdam's leftist elite. The book is also partially biographical. The first part of the book in particular, where the intense friendship between the two men is described, can be seen as a memorial by Mulisch to a friend. Max Delius resembles Mulisch. Both are partially Jewish, haunted by the war and obsessed with women. Mulisch also visited Cuba during the sixties, and he too was part of the students revolt.