Tag: book recommendation
Guillaume Musso: Afterwards I borrowed this one from a friend, who bought it in the first place because Guillaume Musso was advertised as the French Coelho. She actually got so blown away by him that she bought all his other books available in Hungarian. BTW, according to his website this one is translated to 23 languages, and English is not one of them. So, I’m sorry for keeping recommending books that many of you can’t read. Maybe I’ll do a post later promoting language learning. 🙂 So, what I was about to say is that for me Musso is not…
Kurt Waldheim: Un métier unique au monde Former UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim’s narratives about the most unique job in the world. It is not his memoirs, this one was written while he was still acting Secretary General in 1977. It was not actually written by him, he was interviewed by Éric Rouleau in between travels and summits in the course of fifteen months due to the Secretary General’s busy schedule. This book is mostly about then current world affairs and how the UN dealt with them. What makes it interesting today is that most of these issues – Middle…
Book: Esther’s Inheritance by Sándor Márai “I have started to think that the great, decisive moments that broadly govern our lives are far less conscious at the time than they seem later when we are reminiscing and taking stock.” They most certainly are. Esther’s Inheritance is one of Marai’s best works, I don’t even know why this was the first time I read it in its entirety. I have known the story as I have seen the movie a few years ago. But as with all Marai books, the written language is captivating. Even though it is like a detailed…
Jókai Mór: Erdély aranykora “Apafi leült, mint valami áldozatra szánt bárány, s első kezdetnek akkora betűt kanyarított a pergamenre, hogy a török fölugrott ijedtében, s azt kérdte, hogy mi az. – Ez egy M betű – válaszolt Apafi. – De hát a többinek is hagyjon kend helyet. – Ez csak kezdőbetű, a többi majd apró lesz. – No hát mondja kegyelmed fennhangon, hogy mit ír. Apafi reszketve írt és mondá: – Minekutána… A basa elkapta előle dühösen a pergament, s ráordított: – Mit "minekutána” és “annakutána”! Mit cikornyázza kegyelmed. Írja kegyelmed úgy, ahogy szokás: “Mi Apafi Mihály, Erdély fejedelme, parancsoljuk…
The Book of Fathers by Miklos Vamos – book review A family’s fortunes rise and fall over the 300 years of Hungarian history that gracefully unfold in this novel. I am glad I can further popularize Hungarian literature again, this one has an English translation, approved by the author himself (I heard him say it was very good). The story itself is really captivating with Hungarian history as background focusing on the difficulties of Hungarian Jews over centuries. It makes you think about how alternation of ups and downs are just a matter of luck. Or is it fate?
Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948 by Madeleine Albright Madeleine Albright’s new book about her family, can’t wait to read it! She is one of my ideals, and I so love her writing style! And her general style too. She sure has one. 🙂
DailyLit: Tess of the D’Urbervilles, book by Thomas Hardy The first book from Thomas Hardy I’ve ever read, but definitely not the last. At first I found it slow and boring, I would have stopped reading it entirely after the first 30 pages if I were that type, which I am glad I am not, because it just got better and better by every page. And the end is just striking.
