The person who wrote the previous review said the book wasn't much of a thriller and I definitely concur with that and it should not be billed as a mystery, but as the NY times says it is written brilliantly and I would definitely concur with that. Just don't expect anything unusual to happen, no surprises, no discoveries, just read and listen to the message in the words. I loved the metaphors, the ideas about life and why we need an enemy. In that way it is a very interesting and creative book, mystery no, thriller not at all, the narrative is predictable the language and voice in the book urges us to read on and we do.
The New York Times Book Review gave this book a rave review, but I was disappointed. There is nothing wrong with it, exactly, but I was not impressed. It's sort of Kafkaesque and allegorical. I like Kafka, but I did not see anything so remarkable about this book. Maybe its main value is historical, since it is a reaction to Nazi-ism and the German occupation of The Netherlands 1940-5.
