tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90922769247253493312012-02-01T14:13:49.309+01:00Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.comBlogger1151100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-1348790554679980142012-01-29T14:46:00.003+01:002012-01-29T15:15:37.272+01:00

Hello everyone,I had a long-long break in writing my Almost Insider blog. Now I'm back.As you know I'm reading mostly historical novels, mostly about history of Central-Europe. This Sunday I would like to talk about a German novel on the ww2 by Arno Surminski. The original title is Vaterland ohne Väter, what means, homeland without fathers. It's about a 62 years old woman, who's father has

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-30669798340744064942011-04-10T02:50:00.000+02:002011-04-10T02:50:18.739+02:00

Well, after 12 hours my first goal, at least 200 pages to read form the book Imprimatur by Monaldi and Sorti is reached. Although the novel is not too much interesting. it's like a "The Name of the Rose"-clone. Lost and found manuscript, a homicide, secrets and mysteries. It's set in Rome in an inn (or a hotel) in the 17. Century.The narrator is a young boy, precisely: someone, who was a young

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-70357114194791441832011-04-09T13:03:00.001+02:002011-04-09T13:11:52.857+02:00

Just a brief post before the big start at 2pm (CET) I'm going to read first of all the historical novel Imprimatur by Rita Monaldi and Francesco Sorti. I'm just quite curious what difference is between a one-author novel and a two-autor-novel.  (Even: Is there any difference?) For me writing a novel is a solitary activity, and a bit hard to imagine, how to write a novel together with someone

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-10401315444298405112011-04-04T18:02:00.000+02:002011-04-04T18:02:28.977+02:00

"But she knew very well that if she had not stood when she did, the scene would still have happened, for it was not about her at all. Only chance has brought her to the window. That was not a fairy tale, this was the real, the adult world in which frogs did not address princesses, and the only messages were the ones that people sent."  (Atonement by Ian McEwan)

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-77691611542101489282011-04-03T14:45:00.001+02:002011-04-06T02:16:01.009+02:00

How? This way! At least my good old Almost insider blog, after a few months' break.  Hello everyone, I'm here again. And I have a lots of new ideas. First of all, the blog will be more international, I try to focus more on books have English version (and even I have a sample of it). On the other hand, because I read many novels by different Central-European writers, they will have a special role

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-37179768843152508862011-04-01T16:08:00.008+02:002011-04-01T17:18:02.387+02:00

Actually, it's a re-reading. I've already read this novel some years ago, but I've seen the movie based on it only just some days ago. Well, I just thought, it's time to read it again, because I'm fascinated by the way, how this story is talking about the sophisticated relationship between reality and fiction. Somehow, it's about the meaning of literature, about why we're writing and reading

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-48622232932201242012010-09-26T13:20:00.006+02:002010-09-26T14:29:34.362+02:00

Hello everyone,after a (not that) short break, I'm here again. The september was for me quite busy due to the start of my first PhD semester, that means for me first of all more time to spend in Budapest (and in the libraries in Budapest).Well, the two Portuguese books from my last blogpost weren't really interesting for mey, somehow it was a bit too much of magucal realism, which is

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-4573096627600426042010-08-15T05:59:00.005+02:002010-08-15T06:21:12.944+02:00

Hello Dear Saloners,I have been thinking about this a while. I've read several books by Jose Saramago, and even the famous novel The Long Voyage by Jorge Semprun, but no more books by Portuguese authors.But it will change maybe this weekend.First of all here is the novel The Return of the Caravels by Antonio Lobo Antunes. The story is set in 1974 and in the 15. century. That makes it interesting

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-72757407135909979072010-07-30T18:49:00.006+02:002010-08-15T06:28:48.362+02:00

Henry James:The Wings of the Dove (1902)It’s the good old story of the classic 19. European (not just only the English) upper-middle class society. There are two young people a man and a woman, they love each other, but the circumstances don’t allow them to marry and live together. Well "circumstances" means money mostly, but this is not the only one thing. The virtue of the novels by Henry James

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-85851840724191876032010-07-29T19:23:00.004+02:002010-07-29T19:32:43.718+02:00

Painting of the month (2)I found this painting really accidentaly, during reading the book A History of the World in 10½ Chapters by Julian Barnes. The 5. chapter is about this artwork. Somehow, it's wonderful on its extraordinary way: Theodore Géricault (1791-1824): The Raft of the Medusa"The Raft of the Medusa (French: Le Radeau de la Méduse) is an oil paintingof 1818–1819 by the French

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-54511288973781213932010-07-18T18:41:00.005+02:002010-07-18T19:46:46.593+02:00

Paris in July (3)Could you imagine the situation, you're reading, and reading, you're recognizing the words, the sentences, but not what is the book about. Boring text? Even not, just too lyrical or too abstract.Some years ago I really enjoyed the books by Jean Paul Sartre or Albert Camus. I adored the philosophy of the existentialism. Even some of my essays are written in the sense of

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-44262659759203350792010-07-14T07:17:00.006+02:002010-07-14T09:11:57.716+02:00

Paintings of the month (1) Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806): Te SwingFrom the article of the wikipedia:"The painting depicts a young man hidden in the bushes, watching a woman on aswing, being pushed by her husband. Her husband is hidden in the shadow, as heis unaware of the affair. (The Baron had requested a portrait of his mistressseated on a swing being pushed by a bishop, which Fragonard

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-37832286460577662342010-07-04T16:03:00.006+02:002010-07-04T16:34:43.183+02:00

Hello dear Saloners,and the participants of the Paris in July challenge too.I'm currently sitting on the train waiting to start a journey, no, not to Paris, just to my hometown. So, there is a lot of time to write about... about books, reading and of course Paris, and this challenge.So, July means for me first of all watching Tour de France since more than a decade. It started rally accidentally.

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-25532618352519523312010-05-20T07:01:00.007+02:002010-05-20T07:36:43.757+02:00

J. M. G. Le Clézio:Ritournelle de la Faim2008After reading Terra Amata exactly a year ago, this book by J. M. G. Le Clezio (Nobel-prize winner 2008) sounds quite simple now. (On the other side I'm a bit suspicious, did I ignore something important accidentaly?)This story, Ritournelle de la Faim [Rituals of the Hunger] is about Ethel Brun a young girl (later a young woman) in the first part of the

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-15203047153069265672010-05-19T15:18:00.009+02:002010-05-19T16:08:45.253+02:00

Dubravka Ugresic: Steffi Speck in the Jaws of Life It's like a pattern. The narrator (aka the author) writes down in the head of the chapter, what kind of tasks she has and she uses the usual phrases of tailoring. She says several times, her book is like a patchwork. (Patchwork is sometimes the synonym of the postmodern texts in the literary criticism.)Steffi Speck in the Jaws of Life was

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-64356671874112543072010-05-02T16:43:00.001+02:002010-05-02T17:01:01.099+02:00

Hello fellow Saloners,I'm just thinking about what kind of books I've told you recently. And I realized, there are mostly books by Central-European authors. Slovakian, Slovenian, Czech, Polish, etc novels.I know, these countries use to call as Eastern-European ones, because they were part of the former Soviet-bloc. But I know the real (!) Eastern-Europe is quite different to these countries.OK, I

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-71811613738321333522010-04-26T13:09:00.011+02:002010-04-26T20:02:30.742+02:00

Jose Saramago The Gospel According to Jesus ChristI've finished this book some weeks before, but I don't know what to write about it. My chief problem was, I didn't realize during reading this book this is "an alternate history of Jesus Christ", as I've read at many places later. Or better to say, I don't know what exactly is different to the Bible. And is it really so important to know?On the

Annihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04127297861260947593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-67842521547185113122010-03-21T13:48:00.004+01:002010-03-21T14:15:39.975+01:00

Hello fellow Saloners,Some of my colleagues say, the literature of the ex-Yugoslavian countries is quite important for us. Well, it's probably true, but after reading some books written by authors from the Balkans, I think, these books is somehow not for me.On the other hand, because I want to know more about the literature of other Central-European countries, I've discovered for myself some

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-46245900890160051432010-02-24T17:16:00.008+01:002010-02-24T19:01:30.144+01:00

Dusan Simko: Esterhazyho Lokaj [Esterhazy's lackey]Dusan Simko is a Slovakian writer living in Switzerland. His story "Esterhazyho lokaj" [Esterhazy's lackey] is a historical novel about the time when Joseph Haydn served at the noble Esterhazy family in the 18. century.But the protagonist isn't the famous composer, but the young Jewish man Izak, who became the lackey of Prince Nicolaus Esterhazy.

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-30972445564353440902010-01-31T12:59:00.003+01:002010-01-31T13:21:50.737+01:00

Hello, fellow Saloners,here is quite cold since some days, there is a lot of snow on the other parts of the country, but we get here in the Western part of Hungary only incredible cold.Meanwhile I'm currently reading a book Selsky baroko [Folk Baroque] by a Czech author, Jiri Hajicek, which is played during a hot-hot summer in a South Bohemian village. It's about the history of this village,

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-23466457290968447472010-01-03T23:22:00.005+01:002010-01-03T23:57:13.529+01:00

Niccolo Machiavelli: The PrinceNiccolo Machiavelli's famous work The Prince (written in 1513, published in 1532) is about how a prince ( a leader) might gain and keep power. It's a clear and logic study about the political and military power. Machiavelli argues with many examples from the past, he mentions for example Rome, Athen or Sparta several times, he writes about Alexander the Great or the

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-13703820498508296912010-01-03T15:27:00.006+01:002010-01-03T16:01:42.123+01:00

OK, I know, December was a perfect disaster on this blog, especially in the challenges. But let's forget the last year and look forward to this year.I started to read Skylark Farm by Antonia Arslan this Sunday. She is an Italian writer and academic of Armenian origin and the story is about the Armenian genocide in 1915. The topic of the novel is very serious basicly, but after 40 pages the

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-58050267470747644562009-12-31T12:06:00.002+01:002009-12-31T12:12:41.909+01:00

I wish to all the readers of the Almost Insider blog a very happy 2010!

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-38801335424029854582009-12-19T01:15:00.005+01:002009-12-19T01:20:26.137+01:00

Patrick Süskind: Perfume:A Story of a Murderer (1985)A story of smelling, set in the 18. centruy in France. My first question was to this book: is it necessary to set this story in this century? Or is it that kind of „historical” fiction, which use the past only for spectacular scenery, which makes the story extravagant.Well, I think, it was necessary, first of all because of the life of the

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-34081578729144715602009-12-14T09:06:00.005+01:002009-12-14T09:15:19.028+01:00

Gyorgy Dragoman: The White KingThe life of the former „Eastern Block” form the point of view of a child. Djata is a 11 years old boy, his father is at a forced labor camp. This is the most important motive in the book, which contains of several grotesque and absurd, but still anecdotic stories from the life in Romania in the middle of the 1980’s.Well, a 11 years old child is our narrator, which

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-85427169961115297342009-12-13T16:38:00.000+01:002009-12-13T16:50:00.323+01:00

There are two books I’ve read already weeks (month?) ago, and I always promise to write review, but I couldn’t manage still. Well, I don’t write reviews about every book I read, but these are on my list to the Fall into Reading Challenge list, and I have also the aim to write every books on that list something.Well, I think, the problem is more difficult than I would not have enough time to

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-87760097228932914712009-12-01T22:11:00.003+01:002009-12-01T22:21:22.988+01:00

Anna Enquist: The Secret(2000)The story of the Dutch writer, Anna Enquist is about the life of a (Dutch) pianist, Wanda Wiericke. We can follow her life from the moment of her birth till when she is over 60. Sometimes it looks like a movie script, every chapter is like a long-long scene, and one chapter is about the young Wanda an other about the old one, or a man called Bouw (first we meet him,

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-44353789686540301392009-11-22T16:34:00.000+01:002009-11-22T16:49:07.730+01:00

Update (16:35 - CET)OK, the book of the day is definitely a short novel by the French author: Christian Bobin. He is a new author for me, I've read on the web, he sells his short books in more than 100 000 samples.The book's French title is La folle allure (sorry, I couldn't find any English version). It is about a young girl, she is also the storyteller, she and her family is a member of a

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-71433224680489501602009-11-15T15:17:00.000+01:002009-11-15T15:45:29.812+01:00

I'm currently reading a Slovenian histrical fiction, set in the end of the 18. century: Katarina by Drago Jancar. The story is about an almost 30 year old woman and about a pilgrimage. The book reminds me of the wonderfull lyrical novel by Istvan Szilagyi: Ko hull apado kutba [Stones Are Falling Into Dwiddling Well] (unfortunatelly an another exciting Hungarian novel isn't translated into English

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-29891275607529898862009-11-05T04:41:00.005+01:002009-11-05T04:48:37.572+01:00

Lion Feuchtwanger: Raquel:The Jewess of Toledo (1955)The story of La Fermosa (Dona Raquel) is a famous Spanish story from the end of the 12. centrury. She was the paramour of King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Toledo for almost seven years. Her life with the king and her dead is adopted in several literary works, like in the chronicle of Alfons X, or in a play of Franz Grillparzer and of course,

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-72319422605622203182009-11-03T16:04:00.003+01:002009-11-03T16:22:55.962+01:00

The Really Old Classic Challenge is hosted by rebeccareid, and it's between November 2009 and February 28 2010. The challenge requires the participants to read at least one work written before 1600 A. D.See more here....My goal is (of course) to be a "classicist", so I've selected four works:The Prince by Niccolo MacchiavelliHeptameron by Marguerite of Navarre(extra: Mademoiselle Boleyn by

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-92136040147774056582009-10-27T23:35:00.002+01:002009-10-27T23:36:11.324+01:00

Daniel Kehlmann: Measuring the World 2006 So many Geniuses in only one book, Gauss, the two Humbolds, Goethe, Kant, Daguerre, Bonpland..... The Measuring the World is an amusing and very pleasant novel about two great German scientists: Carl Friedrich Gauss and Alexander von Humboldt. Two parallel lives, two parallel stories in the really best period of the German spirit. They have much in

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-32454588888974751752009-10-26T09:32:00.000+01:002009-10-26T09:38:57.199+01:00

Elena Ferrante: Troubling Love1999.Reading the book Troubling Love by Elena Ferrante I just tried to imagine Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in the story. I wanted to bring near to me the typical Italian (typical Neapolitan) people and their passionate way of talking. But I'm affraid this trying wasn't really succesful.Troubling Love is a story of a mother-daughter relationship. I would say

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-36750911803596463222009-10-25T20:16:00.000+01:002009-10-25T20:44:51.290+01:00

OK, after the 24 hour read-a-thon, here is my normal Sunday Salon post for this Sunday.As I mentioned last week, I discovered some interesting new books on my favourite publisher's site. This company publishes usually the really really best of the contemporary Hungarian literature, for example it is the publisher of the books written by Imre Kertesz, Peter Esterhazy and Peter Nadas.And that's

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-34178680599797883702009-10-25T13:01:00.002+01:002009-10-25T13:15:19.980+01:00

Wow, it was great!My first 24 hours read- a-thon has finished. Thanks to everyone, who visited my blog during the event. This was my "apprenticeship", next time I'll do much much better, I promise.So, finally, I've completed the book Troubling Love by Elena Ferrante (216 pages), I've read 136 pages from the book Measuring the World by Daniel Kehlmann (that was my favourite this weekend) and

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-25491835841426569892009-10-25T09:39:00.004+01:002009-10-25T10:08:32.386+01:00

The last two hours (since my last update).... well.... hm.... let's forget it.But now!Finally I decided to read The Jewess of Toledo by Lion Feuchtwanger in the final hours. It's an another German historical novel, but an old-fashioned, a classical one. I prefer the postmodern historical fictions, they are very funny. But sometimes it's worth to read a bit older ones.I started to read it some

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-71668202304267230882009-10-25T07:15:00.003+01:002009-10-25T07:29:58.775+01:00

7:24. a. m. (CET) I've completed the book Troubling Love by Elena Ferrante. (216 pages). Well, I've read the last 40 pages in a hurry. The way of storytelling wasn't interesting for me, just the solve of the mistery, how Delina's mother has died.Taking into account, that it's style wasn't fit for my taste, I think, I was quite patient with this book. We know from the first sentence, Amalia, the

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-45213865102243643352009-10-25T05:44:00.002+01:002009-10-25T13:35:21.397+01:00

Good morning read-a-thoners.(And welcome Sunday Saloners!)5:44 a. m. is here.A little nap is good, but a longer is better. A slept almost four hours.(No, I'm not going mad. We have set the clock with one hour back on this night , so from 2 a. m. to 5 a. m. was 4 hours for me . Hahaha.)I'm feeling quite fresh.Now I'm reading still the book by Elena Ferrante. I'm on the 122. pages. Well, it's maybe

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-66814706968573006222009-10-25T01:25:00.004+02:002009-10-25T01:47:24.902+02:00

Ok, I'm here again. With some news. First of all, it's Sunday already, 1:47 a.m. (CET).After 136 pages I decided to have a break from the novel by Daniel Kehlmann. I was getting slower and slower, so I needed something new.And that is the Troubling Love by Elena Ferrante. It's about the relationship of mother and daughter. Delia, the first person narrator is over 40, and the story starts with the

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-22180654794743297172009-10-24T21:14:00.004+02:002009-10-24T21:28:40.057+02:00

Caribousmom hosts this mini-challenge:Besides books, what do YOU collect?I have a very-very small collection of Kinder Egg Surprises. It's from the first part of the 1990's when I was a child.****My previous Read-a-thon posts:My pile #1#2

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-80880599143138077542009-10-24T19:12:00.006+02:002009-10-24T19:36:42.729+02:00

Still the Measuring the World by Daniel Kehlmann. It sounds maybe funny, but the biographies of the two scientists Gauss and Humboldt are like the parallel lines. One day they'll meet.What a great idea writing about Gauss' life like one of two parallel lines. Really funny.It's 7:24 pm here (CET). I'm getting now a bit slower, I'm now at the 100. page, because I read also the posts of other

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-5823938368557606212009-10-24T16:09:00.005+02:002009-10-24T16:26:32.645+02:00

I started to read finally an another book: Measuring the World by Daniel Kehlmann. It's a historical fiction about Carl Friedrich Gauss, the matematician and Alexander von Humboldt the naturalist and explorer (he was the younger borther of the great Prussian stateman)The novel was a great success in Germany and I have some idea why. After 60 pages I have to say, it is very amusing. The

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-5698111592519317192009-10-22T14:26:00.012+02:002009-10-25T05:46:32.403+01:00

Well, this will be my first Read-a-thon, and I'm very exciting. 24 hour reading... it's something new for me, although I feel sometimes, I'm reading and reading and reading 24/7/365.So, there is a bit more to read about this challenge here.... I hope, you'll will visit my blog during the event. (It will start 5am Pacific/1pm GMT/ 3 pm CET)I've selected three quite long books:The Pope's Rhinoceros

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-39602809837590452112009-10-21T16:18:00.002+02:002010-07-30T18:57:40.598+02:00

Well, there is a lot of books, I should read as soon as possible. There are a lot of classic works I always wanted to read, but somehow I could never manage it.That why I have also so many classics on this list.But I've chosen only 10 books, that is not too much to be sure, I'll really read them next year.So, here is the list:Henry James: The Wings of the Dove Review....Robert Nye: FaustLaurence

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-14189872881601358272009-10-18T17:43:00.000+02:002009-10-18T17:58:34.681+02:00

First of all new reviews since my last TSS post:The Remain of the Day (Kazuo Isgihuro: The Remains of the Day)Love after war (Bernhard Schlink: The Reader) His story - her story (Margaret Atwood: The Penelopiad)Enjoyable fiction about the past Philippa Gregory: The Other Boleyn GirlYes, Reading, reading and reading the title of this new post. I think, I get into my stride again. Because of the

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-83923255086940613772009-10-16T19:19:00.005+02:002009-10-16T19:29:11.161+02:00

Kazuo Ishiguro: The Remains of the Day (1989) Somehow it’s a very sad story. There is an English butler, Mr Stevens, who has his philosophy of the importance of dignity. It looks like sometimes, it is the most important thing in his life. His whole life is intended for this principle. Of course, when someone serves other people for a lifetime, it can be an important principle quite easily. But

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-48595827700705255132009-10-14T19:49:00.008+02:002009-10-14T20:04:50.932+02:00

Bernhard Schlink: The Reader (1995)First of all I have to admit, I don’t like the stories about teenage boys with the first love and the first sexual experiences. By starting to read this story I’ was a bit afraid, it will more focus on this motive.The novel starts with the first meeting between the 15 years old boy Michael Berg and the 36 years old Hannah Schmitz in a West German city, in 1958.

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-44997732850567256962009-10-12T20:14:00.008+02:002009-10-12T21:32:46.958+02:00

Margaret Atwood: The Penelopiad (2005)I love the idea of this book. Telling the famous story about Odysseus' journey from the point of view of his wife, Penelope.Penelope's name is traditionally associated with faithfulness, because she keps her suitors at bay in Odysseus long absence. She is like a statue of the faithfulness in the stories have been told during many-many centuries.In the book

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-84893844986345151722009-10-10T21:44:00.010+02:002009-10-10T22:54:42.043+02:00

Philippa Gregory: The Other Boleyn Girl (2001)Actually, I have a problem with the title of this novel. Of course, before reading, I thought, Anne is the famous Boleyn girl and Mary is the other one. But after I’ve finished this books, I’m a bit confused. Who is the other one?Well, the novel is a historical fiction. I think, the main characters and the main events are well known. King Henry VIII,

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-25830332206250138402009-10-04T21:37:00.000+02:002009-10-04T21:50:59.229+02:00

I know, Sunday Saloners love photos.It's still wonderful, sunny and warm here, a really nice autumn afternoon.So I've vistied the Margit Island in the heart of Budapest, and made some pictures, take a look at these ones:Well, it's an ideal place to read outside, but I take with only a book, finished within half an hour. It was a small book collected from short stories by a young Hungarian writer,

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-19166582290848776842009-10-01T11:24:00.002+02:002009-10-01T17:41:34.656+02:00

Some weeks ago Gavin asked me, are there any Hungarian historical fictions translated into English?On the site www.historiannovels.info I've found only three books.Peter Esterhazy, Celestial Harmonies (2000):"A literary novel about five centuries of Hungary's aristocratic Esterhazy family, in which the first half is a non-linear melding of many generations into a kaleidoscopic narrative, and the

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-50989559187728320002009-09-27T19:05:00.002+02:002009-10-01T19:38:00.842+02:00

Maybe it's not too late to write about the title of this blog.I started visiting literary events in Budapest regulary three years ago. But I had always mixed feelings. I'm a member of the second largest association of young writers in Hungary since many many years. So, I could say I'm the member of the writers (essayist, literary scholars etc.) community. But I still haven't any 'real" success.

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-88825562148624168462009-09-27T09:11:00.000+02:002009-09-27T12:32:27.034+02:00

I started to read this weekend the book True Story of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey.I think, I'll finish it today.But I have some questions.After cca 220-230 pages (from the 450) I just thought, there isn't any interesting in this book. Neither good nor bad.But I started to research on the web what other people about this novel say and I've learned that Ned Kelly was a real historical character.

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-85441075029059952562009-09-26T09:01:00.010+02:002009-09-26T09:30:09.262+02:00

E. L. Doctorow: The March (2005)One historical event, several point of views. The March by E. L. Doctorow remind me sometimes of Sandor Marai’s novel about the hours after Caesar’s assassination. We can learn during reading that book what kind of thoughts had the residents of a spa town after Caesar death. Everybody has his own opinion, the patricians, the innkeepers, the bakers, the eunuchs,

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-56203558478374773032009-09-22T15:25:00.014+02:002009-12-19T01:22:53.371+01:00

A new reading challenge for me?Yep.The site http://callapidderdays.com/ hosts a reading challenge for this autumn, theFall Into Reading 2009 So, here is my list:Book I started to read, but still not finished:The March by E. L. Doctorow √(Review here....)Frater Gyorgy [Frater Gregorius] by Mor Jokai√(mini-review here)A fenykepesz utokora [The Photographer's Posterity] by Pal ZavadaThe Other

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-55819312417218822482009-09-21T03:01:00.000+02:002009-09-21T06:58:59.396+02:00

Thank God, I've my notebook, I've a mobile internet connection, so I can spend this wonderful warm and sunny autumn afternoon outside. Maybe the last time this year.Oh, how I'll miss the Sun in January or February!So, to spend the autumn with reading and blogging I've found an interesting reading challenge for Fall 2009:Fall Into Reading 2009And I've written a review about the novel Possession

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-2855691179255056902009-09-17T20:56:00.008+02:002009-09-26T09:09:32.421+02:00

A. S Byatt: Possession. A romance(1990.)This novel was a pleasant surprise. I have seen the movie based on it, so, the story wasn’t new for me. But the book! The different style of texts: poems, diaries, letters, etc. Reading this book was a really great adventure.The story is about a “literary investigation”, about (re)discovering the life and work of two (fictional) Victorian poets, Randolph

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-2696655821102539302009-09-13T14:12:00.000+02:002009-09-13T14:17:04.269+02:00

Looking at the short list of the Man Booker Prize 2009, I must say, history, or better to say the historical fiction is still in.And that's very OK , because I' ve spent my last three years researching this genre. I would be very sad if this would go out of fashion.Oh, no, just kidding. I know, historical fiction will never go out of fashion.The way of storytelling may change constantly (just

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-26436028376932075232009-09-06T11:16:00.004+02:002009-09-06T11:39:57.841+02:00

One of the reasons why I have so little time to write about books is my mother, after many many years feels strong and healthy again , so we made some one day trips this summer to the places she since years hasn't visited.Last week we were in Budapest. It's for me something usual, I spend each month a few days in the capital, but she wasn't here since 15 years. Not a few times!And this week we

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-18283322774164181182009-09-04T14:18:00.007+02:002009-09-26T09:09:03.383+02:00

Somerset Maugham: Theatre1937A nice and easy story about a famous actress middle 40 falling in love with a young man.Julia Lambert is a celebrated actress in London in the late 1920's, early 1930's. She is even the most talented and the best actress in whole England. But she is 46 years old.Old... old... old.One day she meets a young man Tom Fennel, the new bookkeeper of Julia's and her

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-31932227395215150592009-08-30T17:14:00.004+02:002009-08-30T17:37:57.999+02:00

Busy week, busy weekend....well, just a short TSS-post now.Two weeks ago I've mentioned a novel with the rare way of narration f"irst person plural".It's really a rare form of story telling, but I've found some works, like:Two Thousand Seasons by Ayi Kwei Armah The Ice Mine by Aharon AppelfeldSabbatical: A romance by John Barth The Notebook by Agota KristofNext week I'll write more, I promise.In

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-8746541540940047772009-08-22T11:07:00.006+02:002009-09-26T09:09:41.401+02:00

Isabel Allende: The House of the Spirits (1982)First of all I had to admit, I don’t like the magic realism, or better to say, I never liked the maybe most famous novel with elements of magic realism, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. But reading The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende it was an utterly other experience.The House of the Spirits is a difficult story with

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-79008510348320331052009-08-16T14:11:00.005+02:002009-08-16T14:48:46.763+02:00

Yes, yes there is a new layout for my blog.I think, this is like in real life, women usually like to change her look, so it isn’t surprising, I like to change my blog’s look.Ok, but back to the books. In my last TSS-post I’ve mentioned the novel A Room with a View by E.M. Forster. Here you can read my little review.I would say, today is rather a researching-Sunday, than a reading-Sunday, there is

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-1686757460674915602009-08-11T12:51:00.009+02:002009-09-26T09:09:56.851+02:00

E. M. Forster: A Room with a View, 1908A little funny satire about Edwardian England, but unfortunately nothing more.Lucy Honeychurch is a young woman, travels with her cousine Charlotte to Italy, to Florence. In the Pension Bertolini they meet with two men, the Emersons (father and son) on a quite unusually way, Lucy and Charlotte were promised to get a room with view in this pension, but they

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-29569849316133804012009-08-09T14:26:00.005+02:002009-08-11T19:04:27.152+02:00

Spending a day in Florence.In virtuality.Spending this Sunday in Savonarola’s Florence, end of the 15. century.Although I spend many time with reading, it happens quite rarely, that I read continually almost a day long. And just only one story.A study of the philosopher Agnes Heller mentioned the book The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant, and I thought it could be interesting.As a young girl my

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-75774686561493580652009-08-05T07:12:00.007+02:002009-08-11T19:37:32.871+02:00

Just two "words":“Wherehaveyoubeenson?”and “Whereareyougoingson?”

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-73237688950163539592009-08-01T20:58:00.015+02:002009-08-11T19:37:04.162+02:00

Ok, I know, I know, it wasn’t a really good idea to take this book with. Actually I didn’t read any lines from the Tranquility during those four days at the Lake Balaton.(Lake Balaton) Anyway, we stayed in a nice hotel is Siofok for three nights. This town is known mostly by the beach parties, and the cheap resorts for students, but we could find a really nice place quite far from these things.

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-75496209552667853832009-07-25T12:50:00.005+02:002009-08-11T19:37:19.666+02:00

Just trying something new.On my good old Hungarian blog there was a category something like the book of the month, I wrote (almost) every day some lines about my impressions, during reading this certain book. Maybe it will work on this site too.My first choice is the Tranquility by Attila Bartis. As I know, it has been published last year in US, so I guess it won’t be an utterly useless thing

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-31519048377786795792009-06-07T07:50:00.012+02:002009-08-11T19:05:18.349+02:00

Have you ever been in Budapest?Do you know what does it mean Gerbeaud?Do you know the works of the historian John Lukacs?Do woman write historical stories different?(Gerbeaud)The Gerbeaud is a legendary cafe in the heart of the city, established in 1858, which is a” must seen” place, if you visit Budapest. It is on the Vörösmarty Square, the traditional venue for the Hungarian Festive Book Weeks,

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-47428235493032155632009-06-02T04:17:00.008+02:002009-08-11T19:12:01.222+02:00

John Fowles: The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969)I think, if a foreigner like me wants to learn about the Victorian era, one of the most important book is The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles.For me the absolutely protagonist of the novel is Charles Smithson, this 32 years old (or not even old, just only 32 years!) British gentleman living in the middle of the 19. Century. Maybe it’s

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-32793899879065091862009-06-02T04:09:00.007+02:002009-08-13T20:30:42.845+02:00

Uh, I’m always confused with those "long weekends". The whit Monday seems to be like a gratis Sunday for me, and it could be one on the reasons for this belated Sunday Salon post.On the other hand, on Sunday I was soooo tired, and the next day was a quite busy one, but I really wanted to write a new post.I finished the novel The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles on Sunday second time

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-10108834370377281732009-05-17T08:38:00.004+02:002009-08-11T19:07:17.176+02:00

Last time (oops, it was a while ago) I’ve mentioned the novel Castorp by Pawel Huelle.I’ve finished it, of course, and I liked it. Somehow I had to remember myself constantly, it’s not a Mann’s novel, the atmosphere was so familiar.The story is quite simple, Hans Castorp (the protagonist of the Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann) spends two years in Danzig (Gdansk, now in Poland), he studies civil

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-87060753255094424602009-05-03T22:32:00.008+02:002009-08-11T19:08:17.064+02:00

Hello fellow Saloners,I’m here again.There was an international book festival in Budapest last weekend. Oh, no, no, it was THE book festival of the year. The star guest was Ljudmila Ulickaja, but I haven’t seen any program with her, somehow, I found other events a bit more interesting.For example a conversation with the Polish author, Pawel Huelle. Is he well known in the UK and the USA? I don’t

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-12464448850912114072009-05-02T20:59:00.002+02:002009-05-02T21:10:08.717+02:00

Hungarian literature from a point of view of an almost insider. Yes, the good old title of this blog. But what should it mean? What do I want with?Basically the idea was writing about myself. Me as a young ambitious writer, how I’ll become from an outsider an insider. How I write my first novel, which I still haven’t finished.It wasn’t a bad idea, was it?But if it’s about writing, it must be

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-28366288319985001242009-03-21T21:33:00.003+01:002009-03-21T21:51:43.041+01:00

Hello fellow Saloners,I'm still here.The last 2 months were the most busy ones of my life, and I'm not sad about it, it was a great period, finally I managed to write about my favorite novel a pretty study of almost 50 pages. But sorry, I haven't enough time for writing this blog.Now it's a bit strange for me. After that important job, I can't find my place now, after reading and writing 13-

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-46494975444186302982009-02-01T20:14:00.007+01:002009-02-01T21:13:47.423+01:00

It looks like the 17. century will be my destiny.Last time I mentioned The Meeting at Telgte by Günter Grass (here is my review ), and now, this Sunday, wich is nearing to its end, I've been spend the whole day with two books about Transylvania in the 17. century.The first one is a contemporary book Bestiarum Transylvaniae by Zsolt Lang, and it's a bit familiar with the novels of the magic

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-58187649837954727832009-01-28T14:01:00.011+01:002009-09-26T09:10:27.409+02:00

The Meeting at Telgte [Das Treffen in Telgte] by Günter Grass( 1979)The reason why I’ve read this book was quite simply: I was curious, is there any connection between this novel and the other one, The True Story of Jacob Wunschwitz by Laszlo Marton, who is the Hungarian translator of Grass’ book.As I mentioned already, the "Jacob Wunschwitz"(unfortunatelly, it isn't any English translation yet

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-53141711085725138132009-01-25T09:22:00.006+01:002009-08-11T19:07:39.624+02:00

Yesterday I thought this Sunday I’ll spend with reading The Meeting at Telgte by Günter Grass, and I'll maybe writing a review about it. It's just a short novel, it's set in Germany at the end of the 30 year war. Poets meet at this place, they are talking about art and linguistics, etc. Just a quite unusual book.The reason why I started to read this book was the person of the translator,

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-26146044860786736922009-01-11T10:42:00.001+01:002009-01-11T10:42:00.455+01:00

I'm currently reading a Hungarian novel about is really hard to speak for foreigners. Even that's why I think, it's worth a bit talking about the problem. Well, this book is the Dzsigerdilen [possibly English pronunciacion: jiggerdealen] by Janos Hay (1960-).At first, there is a problem with the title. It's supposedly a word with Turkish origin, but the only place it can be found is an another

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-58165988171744478992009-01-03T10:53:00.000+01:002009-01-03T20:56:08.403+01:00

In the history man plays always more important role than woman.Even in the history of literature.It's not only just about Foe (by Cotzee), where the famous story of Robinson Crusoe is basically told by a woman, and the book (Coetzee's book) plays with the idea Defoe leaves out this female character from his book.It's about, when a woman is keeping in evidence as the wife of a famous man. Maybe

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-90012790356697399692008-12-28T02:56:00.002+01:002009-08-11T19:08:32.869+02:00

First of all, thanks you all for your good luck wishes, I passed my very important exam last Monday. It was really an adventure, there was a general strike at the railways, and the buses were too crowed, but I could fortunately manage to travel to the university (it is 300 kms away from my home).Now it's holiday and I have time thinking about the next year.Last time I mentioned 3 books, which

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-51393726783948177782008-12-20T20:29:00.006+01:002009-08-11T19:07:59.066+02:00

Just a short post.Still busy days, but fortunatelly, there are only few days till Christmas, and I hope, I'll have more time for blogging.Not only Christmas, but the end of the year is nearing too, and I'm thinking much about what next year. What king of books I would like to read 2009.Here is the top 3 of my international TBR -list for the next year:1.Michael Ondaatje: The English Patient2.

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-15798402346231348022008-12-07T08:47:00.007+01:002009-08-11T19:08:51.845+02:00

Preparing for an important exam in two weeks at the university, I started this weekend to read short stories from the 19. century.First of all Maupassant’s stories, and some others written by Gogol and Chekhov.French literature was always more sympathetic to me than the Russian, but these two authors are among my favourites.Reading the story The Cloak by Gogol, I was thinking about there is

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-74670185486158754082008-11-30T17:42:00.009+01:002009-08-11T19:09:20.804+02:00

Oh, it was such a busy week!I was travelling all the week, sitting on train in average 3 hours a day. That means, I was reading and reading and reading and...I’ve finished the book Sinistra Zone by Adam Bodor, here is my review. As I know, this book is available in translation in different languages. The another book about I’ve written a post is The Case Worker by Gyorgy Konrad. He is a

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-40279330955255116092008-11-29T14:31:00.007+01:002009-08-11T19:12:18.129+02:00

The case workers by Gyorgy KonradAgain an unpleasant story.The end of the 1960’ in Hungary. This short novel is a document of the difference between the official ideology and the real life in Budapest.The story is about a day of a case worker, a bureaucrat , who takes care of disadvantaged children. There is a young , a five years old boy, his parents have committed suicide, the boy is mentally

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-18266961877180779212008-11-23T15:15:00.004+01:002008-11-23T15:26:38.949+01:00

Hello fellow Saloners,in the last 2-3 TSS-posts I’ve mentioned the novel The Bridge over the Drina by Ivo Andric. I think this Sunday is the day, I give up to finish this book. At the beginning I’ve found the idea great, writing stories about the common people living in the near of this bridge over the Drina (in Bosnia and Herzegovina), from the time building this bridge in the 16. century till

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-61832880678320684382008-11-22T08:34:00.005+01:002009-08-11T19:33:19.910+02:00

If he would live today, he would be followed standing by paparazzi, he was the superstar of the literature in the 1910’s. He had an affaire with an older married woman (called in the poems Leda), and later a young girl (Csinszka), one of his fans married him. He was journalist and poet.He lived in Paris, and described the feeling no matter if you are in this metropolis, there is something

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-66723142775224457122008-11-16T12:27:00.017+01:002008-11-16T13:02:26.923+01:00

This Sunday I dedicate to the blogs of other Saloners. There are blogs, unfortunatelly, I haven’t visited since weeks, because of my busy days recently.But I’ll make up for that this Sunday.Reading the litblogs the first thing I strike, bloggers are preparing for the different reading challenges 2009. I also found some interesting ones, like the The Decades Challenge 09, or the German Reading

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-3816902771803458502008-11-11T10:47:00.004+01:002008-11-11T13:42:42.598+01:00

Some months ago I’ve written about the  Fatelessness and about the question, is Gyuri Koves an unreliable narrator. Now I’ ve found an another interesting story, The story of my wife, Reminiscences of Captain Storr by Milan Fust. This novel is about a Dutch seaman Jakab (or Jacob) Storr, married with a pretty French woman. But this is an unhappy marriage, Jacob is very jealous.  And that is the

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-36064274133033390072008-11-09T11:48:00.004+01:002008-11-09T12:08:34.316+01:00

I ususally read a lots of litblogs, and sometimes I used to see the little logo of a reading challenge: history is hot. So, I just started thinking about my relationship to the historical novel. The reason is I’m currently reading The History of the Siege of Lisbon by Jose Saramago, which is not a typically historical novel (or a typically postmodern historical novel?), but history, and the way,

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-54758428591850851952008-10-26T09:16:00.002+01:002008-10-26T09:18:11.329+01:00

This weekend is for me, watching and hearing instead of reading. There is an annual “autumn festival" organised by the Belletrist Association, this year the topics are the role(s) of female writers, writing as woman, or better to say: writing like a woman, because there are some male writers among the participants written a novel with female narrator, which is an interesting theme too, what is a

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-50472520650095906992008-10-24T00:05:00.001+02:002009-09-06T11:32:06.720+02:00

It’s definitely an interesting question. Not even for us, here and now in the 21. century, when the ID card, the passport, or other important documents are part of the every day life, when we have photographs and videos about or all life, about most of the important moments, but for example for the people living in the 17. century. The heroine of the novel A kigyo arnyeka [The shadow of the

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-41090970005835698472008-10-19T15:40:00.000+02:002008-10-19T15:41:22.225+02:00

Every Sunday I sit down at my desk to write a TSS-post, I promise myself to write more post on weekdays too. But it’s always easier to realise the ideas in my mother language, than in English,  so in my other blog there are 4-5 posts weekly, and here only one or two. But hope dies at, maybe next week. Anyway, this Sunday is a special one, I have finally enough time to read a study by my

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-53120180847894475242008-10-13T02:07:00.007+02:002009-08-11T19:09:41.285+02:00

Hello again, I've promised in the previous post, I"ll write about the non-Hungarian books I currently read. (Or I've read recently.) I've finished The French Lieutant's Woman by John Fowles this week. I really love it. In the first part of the book I concentrated rather on the structure of the text, on this mixture of storytelling and essay writing, in the second part I enjoyed the story, I was

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-53333749846343329462008-10-12T15:24:00.002+02:002009-08-11T19:10:12.506+02:00

Hello fellow saloners again. In my last TSS post I mentioned among the book I was reading one about the metaphors. It is a quiet long book, more than 500 pages, and I haven’t finished yet. But it’s very interesting. There is a chapter in the book about the connection between schizophrenia and the usage of metaphors. Sometimes it helps diagnosing the illness, how much importance the patient wants

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-22236041253746212632008-10-09T02:25:00.003+02:002009-08-11T19:13:23.262+02:00

Have you ever read a story, which’s content, the meaning of the story you couldn’t describe, but you could feel this is a great work? Miklos Meszoly’ s Forgiveness is such a type of a story, it’s a parabola, but there isn’t any common moral in this story, everyone has his/her own one. Every time, I’m reading this work, I meet only questions, and no answers. Is is a story about a marriage?

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-59260324302859311562008-09-28T17:55:00.000+02:002008-09-28T17:59:06.819+02:00

Sorry for the last Sunday, I didn’t write a new TSS post. And this Sunday is a quite busy one again.My last semester on the university started two weeks ago, and my readings depend mostly on my obligations, I read nowadays more studies than novels.Among this books are some well-known ones, like the S/Z by Roland Barthes. This is an analysis of Balzac’s short story Sarrasine. For 3 or 4 years ago

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-13620182124772041782008-09-23T22:24:00.003+02:002008-09-23T22:30:53.318+02:00

Just theoretic.Why has Dezso Kosztolanyi translated the name of King Louis the 15th as Louis the 14th in the story Sarrasine (by Balzac)?Two different kings, two different eras.

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-45283873012875344742008-09-22T23:03:00.003+02:002009-08-11T19:15:57.381+02:00

Magda Szabo (1917-2007) is one of the most famous and most popular Hungarian writers of the 20. century. Her stories mostly about her own life, like The Door, or the popular novel Abigel.The book with the title Regimodi tortenet [An Old-fashioned Story] is about the life of her ancestors. We can learn during the reading strong women and weak men, the society life of the town Debrecen, the

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9092276924725349331.post-65856220726406376692008-09-15T20:15:00.001+02:002008-09-16T03:14:11.911+02:00

How Can One Finish Writing by Matyas Dunajcsik Matyas Dunajcsik is a very talented young writer, he writes in a very attractive classical style. As I’ve read this short story at the first time, I find it fascinating, how he re-writes a famous scene of the movie Sindbad (it based on the short stories of Gyula Krudy), the one with the meat-soup.The protagonisst of this story are Tamas, the writer

Pethő Anitanoreply@blogger.com0