The Sunday Salon: It's Austen-time again

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 recognised writer not only in Hungary but in Germany too, he received the Carlomagne Award in 2001. The Case Worker is one of his first novel, and a have to say, it isn’t a light reading.

I read several dramas from the 80’s too, I’m thinking now about a mini series here on the blog, with the title Dramatic December…

But this Sunday is dedicated to female writers again.

I’ll continue to read the Lust by Elfriede Jelinek. It’s quite outspoken text about relationship between husband and wife, and of course we can find very bizarre but still interesting sentences and very original phrases in this book.

And it’s Austen-time again. I’m going to read Emma today. This is my favourite Austen-novel, I’ve read it already cca 10 years ago, so, I’m curious, what will I see something new in this story, what will be my reflexions to this text.

Happy reading!

Review: A long and hard day

The case workers by Gyorgy Konrad

Again 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 retarded, there isn’t any free place in the state care, the neighbours hate the family, nobody wants to take care of the child.

How could the case workers help, what should he do?

He is also the narrator. He speaks about his jobs, the cases he had to take care. Even we can learn the family of the boy, their life before the main character enters their home. He describes the place, the typical people, and his thoughts he gets during this day.

Somehow it’s so very disappointed and bitter. On the other hand it’s quite resigned. Everything is unchangeable, let’s just try to survive this day, and the next ones. What a big difference to the phrases in the news, to reports in the TV and the newspapers those days!