The Discovery of Heaven

Two angels are conversing. Apparently, Francis Bacon - the 16th century scientist credited with establishing, among other things, the scientific methodology known as the 'Baconian Method' - made a pact with the devil, which caused humanity to lose their way with God, instead embracing the more vapid realm of technological progress; gadgets, as it were. God is convinced that the covenant between heaven and earth is broken and has charged the angels with retrieving the original stone tablets that contain the Ten Commandments as handed down by God to Moses on the summit of Mount Sinai. To do this, a perfect human must be created - the angels intervene with twentieth century history to ensure that this occurs. A complicated setup, to be sure. Happily, for at least the first half of the novel, the heavy theological implications of The Discovery of Heaven do not weigh the novel down. Rather, we are invited into the intelligence, artistic and creative world that is the friendship of Onno Quist and Max Delius. They were conceived on the same day, but are completely different. Onno is hugely intelligent, but suffers from a mind that is too rarefied for the concrete harshness of the world. A savant when it comes to languages, Onno made his name in the world of linguistics by translating Etruscan. 'It was because I made Etruscan comprehensible. The greatest minds in the world had failed - even Professor Massimo Pellegrini in Rome was too stupid - so I thought I may as well do it.' For now, he studies obscure topics and lives comfortable on the interest from his father's inheritance. Max Delius lost his parents at a very young age during World War II. His mother was a Jew; she met a predictably sad end in a concentration camp. His father was a Dutch officer in the German army, it was his hand that indirectly caused the death of his wife. As a result of this, Max lives his life convinced that at any time, the people that he holds close could leave him. He is an astronomer, spending his free time seducing a string of random women who mean nothing at all. But when they meet by chance when Onno is hitching a ride home to Amsterdam (a meeting assisted by the unseen hand of an angel), something immediately clicks. From this random encounter comes a friendship that is strong beyond anything they have experienced before. 'Max had never met anyone like Onno, Onno had never met anyone like Max - as a self-proclaimed pair of twins, they did not cease to delight in each other.' Once this relationship has solidified, a third party enters. Of course, she is a woman, but the novel does not take a predictable turn in having a rivalry for Ada Brons' hand dominate the story. No, she begins as Max's girlfriend and ends as Onno's wife, but the way in which this is handled never for a moment suggests a clash of will, a fight for love. Max is happy that Ada is with the one man in the world he loves without reservation, Onno is gently surprised that he could ever be married a

With `The Discovery of Heaven' Mulisch is like an Olympic diver who attempts the most difficult dive imaginable and nearly nails it. Rarely are philosophy, theology, architecture and a host of other subjects presented so vividly in fiction. The introduction to the sweep of Mulisch's thought in the first third of the book left me giddy, not unlike how one feels upon meeting someone whose conversation challenges you to reexamine assumptions from airier heights. Nevertheless, at several of the book's turning points Mulisch seemed somewhat heavy-handed in the way he stretched the work's inner logic. Perhaps he is asking the reader not only to suspend disbelief but to step out of the boat in faith. There's a long stretch in the middle of the book where Mulisch sketches a bit too much detail in preparation for a final crescendo. However, faithful readers who forge ahead will be rewarded. While Mulisch's epic could not quite sustain its page-turning headiness from cover to cover, when I look back at the sparkling insights that Mulisch shared and how this novel covered perhaps more thematic ground than any novel I can recall in the last twenty years, I am left with awe and gratitude for what Mulisch conveyed along the way.

This is one of the best books I have read in years. The way it starts off, it reminds you of "it's a wonderful life", because there is these 2 guys in Heaven discussing how they manipulate our fate here on earth. As we leave heaven and enter the story, the characters of Max and Onno immediately involve you. They could not be more different and better matched at the same time and we breathlessly follow them through the beginnings of their friendship and their incredible discussions about life, music, history, philosophy, the universe. This is one of the greatest qualities of this book: in the discussions of Onno and Max, as well as in other casual settings in the book, Mulisch displays an impressive knowledge of history, philosophy, art, and music without ever sacrificing tension in his storyline. The reader just gobbles up this information without ever having the feeling of having been lectured. The story takes some very incredible turns that will make your jaw drop and read even faster, and when it is all over, you will be sorry you finished it so fast and immediately vow to read it again because you ran too fast through all those passages of sheer beauty in thought and writing.

One of the best books I've read in many years!   Mulisch, a Dutchman, tells a fascinating, very European story about the convergence of the heavens to bring to life an unusual boy.   Conceived and raised collectively, his parents, Max, Onno, Ada, and Sophia (you must read to understand) are four of the more interesting personalities you'll find in any novel.  The novel is carefully divided into four parts (from the Beginning of the beginning to the End of the end) and is chock full of mystery and philosophical riddles.  Most important is the "mission" that this young man is destined to accomplish.  In a series of travels and impulses, the boy, in search of his father (to some extent) and something greater, seeks to find the realities to his architectural and spiritual visions in places like Rome and Jerusalem.  The Washington Post called this, "One of the most entertaining and profound philosophical novels ever written."  I highly recommend it!