Like good Hungarian restaurants, it’s also hard to find Hungarian literature in English outside of Hungary. Even in Hungary the selection isn’t great (although if you’re in the habit of scouring the antikváriums you’ll occasionally come across some out-of-print finds). In America, fans of Hungarian literature (or readers who want an introduction to the relatively little known literature of Hungary) now have the chance to get acquainted with one of Hungary’s most beloved writers. The New York Review of Books* has just released one of Gyula Krúdy’s novels, Sunflower, in its Classics Series which aims to reintroduce out of print books or books that have fallen out of sight.
Part of the reason Hungarian literature has been so little translated is the notorious difficulty of the Magyar language, and Krúdy is said to be one of the hardest of all Hungarian writers to translate. If you’ve never read any translated Hungarian literature, Krúdy’s Sunflower is a fine place to start. One more reason to read Krúdy: he writes beautifully about Hungarian food, and was known as a passionate gourmand who spent all he had on large quantities of good food and wine. That’s my kind of writer.
Check out this review from Sunday’s LA Times or read more about Krúdy and the book here.
* My publisher, The Little Bookroom, is an imprint of the NYRB
1 Comment
June 15, 2008 at 4:54 am
[...] in Hungarian Literature Online. Here is much more from vackor, Thomas McGonigle, Ray Keenoy, and Carolyn Bánfalvi. And Mark Sarvas interviews Arthur Phillips about Krudy and Sandor [...]