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Harry Mulisch
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The Discovery of Heaven Hardcover – December 1, 1996

by Harry Mulisch (Author), Paul Vincent (Translator)
4.3 out of 5 stars 92 ratings
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In a philosophical novel, two friends--a cynical, cerebral blue blood obsessed by the future Onno Quist and the hedonistic astronomer haunted by the past Max Delius--are caught up in an angelic emissary' plan to clone one crucial person by the year 2000. 15,000 first printing.
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  1. Print length
    752 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Viking Adult
  4. Publication date
    December 1, 1996
  5. Dimensions
    6.48 x 2.15 x 9.3 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0670856681
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0670856688
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Amazon Editors' favorite summer reads Amazon%20Editors%27%20favorite%20summer%20reads

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Dutch novelist Harry Mulisch has created an epic tale of love, friendship, and divine intervention in this cerebral story of heavenly influence. On earth, the novel revolves around the friendship of a brilliant, charismatic astronomer and a talented linguist born on the same day. The two men also happen to share a lover, a woman of simple beauty who is a gifted cellist. These relationships, both intellectual and intimate, produce several intriguing conversations about science, art, and theology, and a child of uncertain paternity. The child's birth is closely followed by a number of mysterious accidents, spirited affairs, untimely deaths, and other acts that reveal the influence of higher powers. Quinten, the star-fated child, has a mission from on high to return the covenant God made with man before he was led astray by science and the dark influence of the devil. An engrossing, and at times comic, story of theology and science, angels, and earthly desires, is cleverly told in this hugely ambitious novel.

From Publishers Weekly

In a new novel bulging with metaphysical speculation, Dutch author Mulisch masterfully intersperses mathematics, biology, linguistics, numerology, philosophy and theology. When two strangers meet on a cold night in The Hague, Onno Quist, a linguist and politician from a well-to-do family, and Max Delius, an astronomer, have no idea that their relationship will change the course of human existence. Their meeting, however, like many of the momentous events that occur in the novel, is no accident of chance. It is the product of the careful manipulations by two angels acting at the request of God, who, upset that people are on the verge of mapping the genetic code and thus deciphering the secret of creation, desires to wash His hands of His creation. Disgusted with human behavior, the two angels plot to retrieve the tablets bearing the Ten Commandments, thus breaking God's covenant with humanity. The two angels surmise that the 17th-century philosopher of science Francis Bacon made a pact with the devil for which all of mankind must atone?because scientific knowledge quickly superseded humanity's belief in God. The angels contrive a series of complex events involving Onno, Max and Ada Brons, a bright and beautiful cellist, in order to create Quinten, the boy who will be their unwitting instrument for fulfilling God's doomsday plan. As Onno, Max and Quinten think and work through their lives, they arrive, ultimately, at the impossible and forbidden?the discovery of heaven by means of science rather than faith. God has never been so unforgiving. Hope remains, however, that the next fallen angel might be more benevolent than the last. Mulisch, author of the critically hailed Last Call and The Assault, has created a masterpiece that not only brings his characters closer to discovering heaven but also prods them nearer to knowing themselves. Remarkably, he escalates his plot to ever more complex levels of thought without diminishing the strong, suspenseful (and, in Vincent's fluid translation, often funny) narrative thrust. This is novel-writing on a gloriously grand, hubristic scale.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking Adult
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 1, 1996
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 752 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0670856681
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0670856688
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.55 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.48 x 2.15 x 9.3 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #959,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 92 ratings

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Harry Mulisch

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4.3 out of 5 stars
92 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers praise the book's intellectual content, with one describing it as a delightful intellectual treat, and appreciate its wit and interesting characters. The plot receives mixed reactions, with some finding it interesting while others note it's drawn-out with little ultimate effect. While customers find the book compelling and brilliant, they express concerns about its emotional depth, with one review noting the angels lack wisdom and emotional intelligence.

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IntelligenceReadabilityWitCharacter developmentPlotEmotional depth
10 customers mention "Intelligence"10 positive0 negative

Customers praise the book's intellectual content, with one review highlighting its delightful prose and another noting its masterful storytelling.

"...a sentence in the first chapter, that there was going to sections of marvelous prose: “I wander lonely and magnificent in the rarefied realms of the..." Read more

"...Both Irving and Mulisch are masterful storytellers, but there is not really that much insight from a spiritual, philosophical or existential..." Read more

"...The book, taken as a whole, is extremely PLEASANT to read (or was for this reader), and I can't stress this pleasant, urbane tone of the tome..." Read more

"...pulled me in, and I enjoyed the witty repartee and intellectual jousting and theorizing...." Read more

7 customers mention "Readability"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book compelling and brilliant, with one describing it as their top five favorite novels.

"...PLEASANT to read (or was for this reader), and I can't stress this pleasant, urbane tone of the tome strongly enough...." Read more

"Just a brilliant book; it isn't for everyone, but a stunner...." Read more

"This book has joined the ranks of my top five favorite novels...." Read more

"...brief explanatory metaphysical prologues, you are left with a very engaging story of 3 generations of characters trying to find some sense against..." Read more

4 customers mention "Wit"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's wit, particularly its ironic humor.

"...that no reviewer here seems to have mentioned outright: The ironic wit of the book and of the characters therein, particularly the primary ones, Max..." Read more

"...develops during the first section pulled me in, and I enjoyed the witty repartee and intellectual jousting and theorizing...." Read more

"...The author's combination of intelligence, knowledge, wit and fantasy is simply mindblowing...." Read more

"...The prose is sometimes funny but eventually goes on and on trying to impress. It's a thinking man's, thinking man's soap opera...." Read more

3 customers mention "Character development"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book.

"...Reliving these events through the lives of Mulisch's fascinating characters provides many pleasurable hours of reading...." Read more

"...that are primarily plot-driven, others that present some very memorable characters, and some that display an unusual facility with language itself...." Read more

"The characters and plot are unusual. The characters become understandable but never lovable, to me...." Read more

12 customers mention "Plot"8 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the plot of the book, with some finding it interesting while others describe it as drawn-out with little ultimate effect.

"...The author has a fascinating personal story. He is Dutch, born of a Jewish mother and a Nazi collaborator banker father...." Read more

"...In some ways the ending of 'Discovery' was disappointing, in the same way that Irving can be...." Read more

"...It has a story within a story construction that opens with two heavenly spirits talking to each other...." Read more

"...The main themes in this novel are the genuis-psyche, human meaning in life, and friendship...." Read more

3 customers mention "Emotional depth"0 positive3 negative

Customers find the emotional depth of the book lacking, with one customer noting that the angels lack wisdom and emotional intelligence.

"...book that is purely cerebrally ludic in nature; there are no emotional depths to the work or emotionally binding characters to ensorcell the reader..." Read more

"...What one comes away with is that these two angels lack the wisdom or emotional IQ to do their job well...." Read more

"Imaginative but hard to relate to..." Read more

Worth the read many times over
5 out of 5 stars
Worth the read many times over
I am about to read this book for the third time. It is a book that continually brings new gifts to the reader. While little in this world is unique, I found this book to be just that, unique and lovely. Read it. I can not give it higher praise than to return to it periodically and reread it Mark Reps, author, ZEB HANKS: Small Town Sheriff: Big Time Trouble series
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Brad Evenson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Exceeded my high expectations
    Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This book has joined the ranks of my top five favorite novels. Harry Mulisch is in the company of such greats as Dostoevsky, Thomas Mann, and Proust. The author has a fascinating personal story. He is Dutch, born of a Jewish mother and a Nazi collaborator banker father. His father’s connection enabled him to spare his wife and his son from Auschwitz. Mulisch turns this autobiographical anecdote on its head for one of the main protagonists of Discovery of Heaven. Max’s Nazi father actively sent his mother to Auschwitz out of malice.

    I was initially drawn to this book by a random Wikipedia article about a Dutch poll by readers of the best Dutch novels. The Discovery of Heaven is at the very top. It is rare to go into a book having high expectations, and to have them exceeded. I suspected early on, from a sentence in the first chapter, that there was going to sections of marvelous prose: “I wander lonely and magnificent in the rarefied realms of the Utterly Different.” This novel takes place in the 60s and 70s, but waxes poetical especially when discussing WWII. There are wholly novel approaches to Auschwitz being a literal manifestation of Hell on Earth, and Hitler’s physicality being a key factor in his successful, horrible rise to power. At one point Max, one of the three main protagonists, notes that the new astronomical observatory is being built on the railroad yard where the Dutch Jews were gathered before being shipped to Auschwitz. The yellow stars adorning the clothing have been mystically replaced with a vehicle to see actual stars in the heavens.

    There is a constant flow of learned references to political and historical events, as well as scientific and aesthetic achievements. This makes for educational fiction, as I pulled up Michelangelo’s horned Moses, Palladio’s 16th century Italian architecture, and the word acheiropoeta in Wikipedia (the latter meaning a Christian icon which supposedly comes into existence miraculously). This is a traveler’s book as well, with key scenes in Poland, Cuba, the Italian trio of Venice, Florence, and Rome, and finally, Jerusalem. In Venice and Florence, we are treated to an extended homage to Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice. A woman falls in love with the still underage Quentin. He flees, goes to Florence, where he is sexually assaulted by a male old lecher. The other protagonist, Onno, befriends a raven he dubs Edgar in homage to Poe.

    The conclusion takes an adventurous and mystical turn, but for a novel with an introduction and interludes regarding a conversation between two angels discussing how the events narrated came to be that isn’t wholly unexpected.
    All in all, a thoroughly wonderful read, which has prompted me to acquire the remaining 4 novels by Mulisch available in English.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Henry Slofstra
    5.0 out of 5 stars Owen Meany goes to Drenthe
    Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2005
    Verified Purchase
    I've just finished this book this very evening, so a little distance may be needed to properly assess this novel. But I'm motivated to write a few impressions now, so here they are.
    The inevitability or fated conclusion that drives the narrative of this novel reminds me very much of 'A Prayer for Owen Meany'. I'd have to say - at this moment - that this is the better of the two books, and that is very high praise indeed. I believe that Mulisch's story just flows a little better; at times I find Irving too contrived, with too much of an agenda. Perhaps Irving is a little stronger in developing nuances of character. In any case, if you liked Owen Meany, you will likely enjoy this book, and vice versa: fans of this book should give Owen Meany a try.
    In some ways the ending of 'Discovery' was disappointing, in the same way that Irving can be. Both Irving and Mulisch are masterful storytellers, but there is not really that much insight from a spiritual, philosophical or existential perspective. Really more clever sophistry. One will not find here, the mimetic quality and insight of a Hardy, Tolstoy or Chekhov. Not to say that Mulisch is inferior to the canonized, just different. (And not to say he is not inferior). Still, the insight from a historical and socio-political perspective into post-modern life as it currently stands is considerable.
    If you consider the novel apart from the brief explanatory metaphysical prologues, you are left with a very engaging story of 3 generations of characters trying to find some sense against the backdrop of some of the main events of the post-modern era. Mulisch vividly re-creates Cuba and Holland in the 60s and in the 80s, as well as our ongoing Holocaust hangover. Reliving these events through the lives of Mulisch's fascinating characters provides many pleasurable hours of reading. And the narrative is driven by a rapturous wonder at where the book is going, at how it will end. Instead of a "who-done-it?", it's more of a "why-is-it?".
    Please don't let my reservations about the ending deter you from reading this wonderful novel. I think the book builds some grand expectations that simply can't be met at a deep level, but all the same, there are quite a few thrilling turns in the last pages of the novel.
    Although generally 700 pages is much too long for a modern novel, this book is a notable exception.

    Finally, a word about the reviews accusing Mulisch of misogyny. These formula attacks on various review sites are becoming as annoying as a Slammer worm; perhaps a rogue computer somewhere is assembling them. It is disingenuous, to say the least, to pass off the views and conversations of a novel's characters as either the viewpoint of the novel or of its author. Readers should be more concerned about Mulisch's slams against the province of Drenthe, "the Siberia of the Netherlands", according to Max. Perhaps unkind to Siberia also. (I was born near Drenthe in southern Groningen, and still have family there).
    6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Cliente de Amazon
    4.0 out of 5 stars A very nice novel
    Reviewed in Spain on May 13, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    My friend Carlo, from Scotland, recommend me this book, and in spite not having finished yet it, It looks very very interesting
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  • daria
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Great quality, arrived on time.
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  • Jesse Murdoch
    5.0 out of 5 stars It's an exciting read, being a philosophical novel where ...
    Reviewed in Canada on August 14, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    It's an exciting read, being a philosophical novel where ideas are as interesting as the characters depicted. Although it is over 700 pages long, it reads very quickly indeed. Anyone interested in post-war Europe and the challenges of creating a conflict-free world, will find the book a worthy read.
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  • Victor Arnold Bendell
    5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing read.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 11, 2015
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    Fine book. Fine condition.
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  • Beatriz
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 19, 2016
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    not an easy read
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