The twin girls

When the novel "The Twins" was published in 1993, almost five decades had passed since the end of World War II, and Europe was still living, in one way or another, with the shock of that war and its consequences, amid a consensus on blaming Germany and its people for the moral burden and responsibility for the outcomes of this war. Germany took on this role, especially since it was the defeated side, while the other European countries shaped their narratives, in which Germany appeared innocent of this catastrophe, as innocent as a wolf from Joseph's blood. This agreed-upon formulation may be a unique form in history, where wars have always been narrated from at least two perspectives. In such an atmosphere of moral and historical consensus, the novel "The Twins" came like a stone thrown into the waters of European storytelling; where Tessa D. Lou gave space in her novel to depict the conditions that led to the rise of Nazism, Hitler's dominance of the German political scene, and the effects of that era and the war on German society. Tessa D. Lou told her story with a high moral sense and a critical perspective, distancing herself from any favoritism, and daring to challenge the constants: to see your enemy from another angle, different from the perspective that all channels sought to impose on those who wanted to look at the past. The publication of the novel sparked fierce reactions among critics and reviewers in her country, with some accusing her of betraying her homeland, as she allowed the German — the enemy who occupied the Netherlands, humiliated its people, and exterminated the Jews — space to have his voice and express his suffering, and to appear as a victim of Nazism as well. Author's name: Tessa D. Lou Published in 2023 Number of pages: 600