HHhH by Laurent Binet📖

Summary of HHhH 

“HHhH” is a novel about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague in 1942. Heydrich was the highest-ranking SS officer in Czechoslovakia and one of the main planners of the Holocaust. The novel follows the preparation and the execution of the attack by Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, two Czechoslovak soldiers, as well as the Nazi retaliation against the local population. The story is interspersed with the writer’s reflections on his research and writing process.

Reasons to read HHhH

“HHhH” is the debut novel of the French writer Laurent Binet, which won him the prestigious ‘Prix Goncourt du premier roman’ in 2010. The title refers to the first letters of the German sentence “Himmlers Hirn heißt Heydrich”, meaning “Himmler’s brain is called Heydrich”, a pun in SS circles underlining Heydrich’s central role within the Nazi regime. Fans of this novel might also try Jiri Weil’s novel “Mendelssohn is on the Roof”.

Setting: Prague, Lidice, Ležáky (Czech Republic)

Original title: HHhH

Year of publication: 2010

Nr of pages: 336