Literature Library author

Harry Mulisch

A concise guide to Harry Mulisch's body of work, major titles, and recurring themes.

IB PRL recommended author
Languages
Dutch
Regions / countries
The Netherlands
Forms
Prose: fiction
Indexed works
3

Author overview

Harry Mulisch (1927–2010) was a novelist, poet, and playwright whose body of work spans fiction. This writing is in Dutch and associated with The Netherlands. Major works and useful reading starting points include De aanslag, De ontdekking van de hemel, Twee vrouwen, and The Procedure. Key themes include Guilt, cause, and responsibility, Trauma and delayed knowledge, History enters ordinary life, and Destiny and human choice.

Reading pathway

Begin with De aanslag, then move to De ontdekking van de hemel, then move to Twee vrouwen.

Representative starting points

De aanslag

Five episodes follow Anton Steenwijk from a night of Nazi reprisal in 1945 toward a fuller, more troubling understanding of responsibility.

De ontdekking van de hemel

A friendship between astronomer Max Delius and linguist Onno Quist becomes part of heaven's plan to send Quinten into history and recover the stone tablets of the covenant.

These are Literature Library reading suggestions by an IB PRL author, not titles prescribed by the IB.

All published guides by this author

Biography, authority, and bibliography sources

This independent author guide supports reading and discussion. Curriculum badges show useful AP or IB connections without making this an official AP or IB publication.