A modern day masterpiece and the most critically acclaimed Dutch novel of the 20th century—finally available in English and shortlisted by Three Percent as one of the best translated books of 2008 During the German occupation of Holland, tobacconist Henri Osewoudt is visited by a man named Dorbeck, who strangely proves to be Osewoudt’s spitting image in reverse. Dorbeck assigns Osewoudt to commit a series of dangerous assignments, but things quickly go awry, with Osewouldt eventually killing his own wife. After the war, Osewoudt is taken for a traitor and captured. Osewoudt cannot prove that he received assignments from Dorbeck—he cannot even prove that his doppelganger ever existed. As it forces readers to confront questions of morality and power, right and wrong, The Darkroom of Damoclesbuilds to a stunning conclusion.