HHhH: A Novel

HHhH stands for "Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich," meaning "Himmler's brain is called Heydrich." The novel follows the true story of Reinhard Heydrich, a high-ranking Nazi official, and the two exiled operatives—a Slovak and a Czech—who assassinated him during World War II. The book traces Jozef Gabcík and Jan Kubiš from their escape from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia through their fatal attack on Heydrich and their subsequent deaths in a Prague church basement. Laurent Binet's debut combines historical fact with imaginative narrative, blending memory, actuality, and fiction into an account that functions both as a fast-paced war novel and as a reflection on historical responsibility. The work was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and was named a Financial Times Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. A film adaptation titled "The Man with the Iron Heart" is available on streaming and home video.