Before the publication of The Dinner, the Dutch author Herman Koch was virtually unknown as an author, both internationally and among the Dutch reading public, although to the latter he was known from television. However, Koch had already published 13 novels and collections of short stories, since 1985, when he broke through with The Dinner in 2009.

Eindelijk oorlog (Engl. "Finally War") is an early novel, which was first published in 1996. The novel satirizes the Dutch predilection of imagining oneself into a meaningful, if not heroic role, into the Second World War. In the case of the main protagonist of the novel, this is exaggerated to ridicule.

Rather far-fetched and boring. ( )