Jenna ❤ ❀ ❤'s Reviews > The Assault

I typically avoid historical fiction having anything to do with WWII (and that seems to be about the only HF written nowadays) because they're usually too sentimental, intent on maximizing tears and emotions more than stimulating thoughts and ideas. And these novels are rarely wrapped up without some predictable romance taking over the plot: German woman saves Jewish man. Falls in love. Allied soldier saves Jewish woman. Falls in love. Woman nurses wounded soldier back to health. Falls in love. Not my cup of tea.

That said, when my GR friend Hanneke told me about The Assault, I was intrigued and knew it would be the type of historical fiction I DO enjoy. (Thanks, Hanneke!)

Wow, I loved it! It begins at the end of WWII when most of Europe has been liberated from the Nazis. The story is set in Holland where, unfortunately, the Nazis remain. When a Nazi-collaborating policeman is shot in front of his neighbour's house, young Anton and his family watch as those neighbours drag the body in front of their house instead. The Nazis show up, blame Anton's family for the murder of this evil man, burn down their home and take his family into custody. 

After spending the night in a jail cell with an unknown woman, Anton is taken to live with his aunt and uncle in another city. He has no knowledge of what happened to his parents and older brother.

The years go by and we see how this event shapes Anton's adult life. Though he tries to not think of the past, it influences everything he does. Gradually Anton learns the truth of that night and with that knowledge comes an awareness that things are not always black and white.

I loved this book because it shows the complexities of war. It forces you to question what is right and what is wrong. Is war ever the right course to take? Is killing ever justified? We are left with the idea that what is best is always the action that causes the least amount of suffering to the fewest number of people (which I totally agree with). It forces us to question what we ourselves would do if placed in extreme situations. We all would like to believe we would be admirable and put others' well-being over our own.... But would we?

As young Anton matures and as he uncovers the truth about the night of the assault on his family, he comes to truly understand that he was not the only person who lost loved ones during the war and that there were those who lost far more than he.

Over the course of decades, Anton meets various people who each shed new light on the events of that horrible night when he lost his family. It was interesting to see how Anton's thoughts changed over time and with each new discovery. 

The Assault is my kind of historical fiction because it stimulates thought more than emotion. Sure, you feel things reading this book -- how could you not when reading about the atrocities of war? Of a child losing his family? Of the horrific and unimaginable things the Nazis did? However, those emotions are not at the forefront and you are able to look clearly and concisely at the questions Mr. Mulisch raises. This book is just as much a work of philosophy as it is a novel. Historical fiction fans will not want to pass this one up (unless you only like those tear jerker romance novels).