Rights sold

• Archipelago (North America)
• Pushkin Press (UK & Commonwealth)
• Helicon Plus (Russia)

About the book

In this gripping war novel, Willem Frederik Hermans shows that human interactions are not purposeful, but instead amount to no more than a string of randomness and error. On the eve of WWII, a public attorney, devastated because his Jewish lover fled without him, runs over young girl living clandestinely in the Netherlands. He is torn by grief at the loss of his girlfriend and guilt about the accident, which is enshrouded in puzzles that he attempts to unravel while the world around him collapses. In the meantime, he is looked after by a guardian angel, who whispers him warnings, and by the Devil, who exploits the same admonitions. Memories of a Guardian Angel is an outstanding and thrilling novel that holds a place of honour within Hermans’ oeuvre.