About the book

Mulisch’s unforgettable novel about a family holiday on the island of Crete.

Recently turned forty, ‘Art Director’ Dick Bender is on holiday with his wife, daughter and son on Crete. He stays in the villa of one of his clients and they lead a normal holiday life there. Doing groceries in the village, lying on the beach. His eleven-year-old daughter is difficult, his nine-year-old son stubborn. There is the boredom that sets in toward a holiday’s end: it’s still too early to pack bags, yet the desire to return home begins to gnaw. Nevertheless, an astounding confluence of circumstances awaits him—one that will make even world news.