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Zusatztext One of Ian McEwan's 'most underrated books' "Two contrasting energies galvanize Hermans’s fictions. The wry invitation to find symbols and deeper meanings is balanced by a wealth of detail and meticulously described action, all rapidly delivered, convincingly concrete, and psychologically persuasive . . . Hermans knows life intimately and that his knowledge is devastating." -- Tim Parks , New York Review of Books "Profoundly unsettling . . . haunt[s] the mind for long afterwards." --The Sunday Times , A Book of the Year "Those who do simply open and read will find themselves immersed in a nightmare miniature where philosophical musing gives seamless way to beautiful but unyielding cruelty...this newer translation by David Colmer seems to better capture the unsettling horror." --Ben Murphy, Full Stop "Although An Untouched House is brief, it is worth pacing oneself and absorbing its remarkable density. Hermans is the architect of a masterful story –– concise but expansive in vision...a lucid, exhilarating account." --Peyton Harvey, Zyzzyva "Hermans’s novella is a bleak depiction of the absurdity of war, which knows no winners." --Felix Haas, World Literature Today "A shocking Dutch classic… remarkable… It takes an hour or two to read, but An Untouched House is the kind of book that stays with you for ever." — The Guardian "From the opening pages, the translator David Colmer brilliantly evokes the laconic tone of a narrator who proves intelligent, resourceful and increasingly deranged... By any light, this eloquent marvel teases, bewilders and unnerves." --Times Literary Supplement "This novella is a fascinating portrait of a solipsistic mind, a scrupulous rendering of the erosion of human empathy that resonates in these uncivil times." --Christopher Byrd, Vulture ‘I was struck by the compressed farce and horror in the 1951 Dutch novella An Untouched House .’ -- Sam Leith, choosing An Untouched House as a Spectator Book of the Year "Taut… dark, thrillerish." — New Statesman "Shocking… properly unsettling… It would certainly be good to have a lot more of Hermans’s work available here." — Sunday Times "A stark, funny and graphic exploration of the folly of war… Bravo Pushkin Press for seeking out yet another international gem." — A Life in Books "An expertly crafted story… A small novel that packs a strong, hard punch." — Complete Review "As disturbing and powerful as anything by Joseph Heller or Kurt Vonnegut." --Michel Faber "Hermans is as alarming as a snake in the breadbin... hugely entertaining." --The Scotsman "Crackling with uneasy tension... A beautiful new edition of a powerful and timeless, slim Dutch masterpiece, written in a spare and crisp style that brings to mind Camus." --The Lady " Disturbing, haunting, and brilliant… an excellent antidote to misty eyed nostalgia for blitz or Dunkirk spirit." --Desperate Reader "A violent apotheosis without equal in modern literature. A sadistic universe that offers no room for escape." --Cees Nooteboom "Unsurpassed in its stylistic precision, unsettling in its language, dialogue, atmosphere, humour." ---Harry Mulisch "[Hermans] granted me a silence in which I could hear this novel's voice in all its purity, in all the beauty of the unexplained and the unknown." --Milan Kundera 'A literary tour de force." --Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung "Short but powerful novella… I was filled with admiration for its unfl...
