Seriously. Two bosom friends consisting of an astronomer and politician who challenge religion? Heavenly beings that spontaneously and theatrically kill people on earth just to cover their asses when plans go awry and speak in casual conversation with one another like old pals? Say no more. I am in love.
This passage sums it all up rather well:
"But I want to do it precisely because it's absurd. Since everything is ultimately absurd, the whole of life and the whole world, conversely only the absurd makes any kind of sense. Can you understand that? If everything's absurd, then within that absurdity only the absurd is not absurd! True or not? Have you ever heard of Camus? He was the philosopher of the absurd, and he died in an absurd car accident. For many people that was a confirmation of his thesis that everything is absurd. Bur for the philosopher of the absurd, an absurd death is of course an extremely meaningful end!"
I promise, the rest of the book does not repeat a single word 12 times within 9 sentences. The above is in the voice of a central character writing a long-winded letter to someone or another. Rest assured, Harry Mulisch is an extremely gifted writer with a playfully gifted mind.
Also, there's a movie!
[edit 9/9/14]
and it is a terrible one at that. do not waste your time unless you want to see 2.5 hours of disappointment (and not just because the angel-child looks infuriatingly like an ugly boy band member from the '90s)
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