He was made a professor of literature at the university of szeged the same year. Agnes macdonald quotes from a letter szerb wrote in 1937. This essay is the introduction to the new nyrb classics edition of journey by moonlight by antal szerb in august 1936, the thirtysixyearold hungarian writer antal szerb acclaimed both for his fiction and for his influential history of hungarian literaturetraveled to italy for what he suspected would be the last time. He was from a jewish family, who became catholic, although that did not help them when wwii broke out. Szerb was born in 1901 to assimilated jewish parents in budapest, but baptized catholic.
George szirtes a stealthy masterpieceboth comic and beautiful. Szerb belongs with the master novelists of the twentieth century. Journey by moonlight is often said to be a book about nostalgia. Antal szerb antal szerb journey by moonlight, antal szerb antal szerb may 1, 1901, budapest january 27, 1945, balf was a noted hungarian scholar and writer he is recognized as one of the major hungarian literary personalities of the 20th century. I just finished reading journey by moonlight by antal szerb first published in hungarian in 1937, translated into english by len rix in 2000. In this case, however, the land of the dead is not the wasteland of europes ruined culture but the hinterland of ones own memory, of. Buy journey by moonlight book online at best prices in india on. Hungary in spite of its modest size has produced a raft of truly excellent novelists in the 20th century, including sandor marai, arthur koestler with talents spanning beyond fiction into many other spheres to antal szerb the author of journey by moonlight. Journey by moonlight is a burning book, a major book. Scholarship at the german archeological institute in athens. Antal szerb s dreamlike adventure, like bulgakovs the master and margarita, is an intoxicating, utterly individual mix of magic, madness, eros, and menace. Agnes macdonald, in her dissertation on the nyugat writers the only english text on the subject more detailed than a wikipedia entry quotes from a letter szerb wrote in 1937.
Jun 03, 2014 we talked about everything including those special authors that mean so much and antal szerb was one that i had not heard of before. He studied german and english literature at the university of. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 299 pages and is available in paperback format. Published by pushkin press for the first time in a clothbound hardback edition, beautifully designed by nathan burton. Utas es holdvilag, literally traveler and moonlight is among the bestknown novels in contemporary hungarian literature. Antal szerb was a noted hungarian scholar and writer.
Antal szerb 190145 was a hungarian novelist, scholar, literary historian and translator whose works were greeted with widespread appreciation but who faced everincreasing hostility and persecution because of his jewish. In 1941 he published a history of world literature which continues to be authoritative today. I dont mind observing that as a child i reveled in erotic games, secret afternoons and evenings of play at sex and death. This page contains details about the fiction book journey by moonlight by antal szerb published in 1937. Szerb antals journey by moonlight, first published a few years earlier in 1937, is similarly almost entirely blind to the present. The main characters of this cultural, hungary story are. It is sombre in tone and maintains an atmosphere of surreality, but is also playful and ironic. A major classic of 1930s literature, antal szerbs journey by moonlight utas es holdvilag is the fantastically moving and darkly funny story of a bourgeois.
He is generally considered to be one of the major hungarian writers of the 20th century. He was twice awarded the baumgarten prize, in 1935 and 1937. Journey by moonlight is written by hungarian author antal szerb. Antal szerb was born in 1901 into a cultivated budapest family of jewish descent. Were they supposed to conform to what society expected from them. Traveler and the moonlight or journey by moonlight. Journey by moonlight is among the bestknown novels in contemporary hungarian literature. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. The first edition of the novel was published in 1937, and was written by antal szerb. Journey by moonlight by antal szerb books the guardian.
Antal szerb 19011945 was born in budapest into a middleclass family that had converted from judaism to catholicism. Szerbs first novel exulted in the absurdity of life while his last despaired over it. The telegraph wonderfully wrywe owe thanks to len rix, szerbs accomplished translator, for his part in raising from the dead a writer of such cool irony and historical sympathy. Antal szerb, quote from journey by moonlight because, my dear, in the spiritual life opposites meet. The journey was a romantic farewell, the coda of a long obsession. Buy journey by moonlight nyrb classics book online at low. Journey by moonlight tells the story of mihaly and erzsi. Graduating in hungarian, german and english, he rapidly established himself as an outstanding scholar, publishing books on drama and poetry, studies of ibsen and blake, and histories of english, hungarian, and world literature. The newlyweds are on their honeymoon in italy when the novel.
Nicholas lezard is on a personal crusade after reading journey by moonlight, the compulsive pageturner by antal szerb fri 27 jul 2001 20. Wandering alone from city to city, with his marriage rapidly falling apart, mihaly must confront the ghosts of his past and try to find a sense of purpose. The outstanding journey by moonlight begins with the rome honeymoon of mihaly and erzsi, a bourgeois couple from pest. This is the first marriage for the 36 yearold mihaly, who expected this marriage to cap a fifteen year period of disciplined conformity and hard work. Translated from the hungarian by the renowned and awardwinning len rix, antal szerbs journey by moonlight first published as utas es holdvilag in hungary in 1937 is the consummate european novel of the interwar period. That awful mess on the via merulana by carlo emilio gadda. Journey by moonlight appeared in 1937, followed in 1943 by the queens necklace and various volumes of novellas. Oct 31, 2016 one of hungarys most revered writers until his demise at the hands of nazi concentration guards who beat him to death at the age of 43 in 1945, the novel journey by moonlight is antal szerb s. Rix was trying too hard to make his version sound good. Journeys in italy, a travelogue of a journey he made in italy. Graduating in hungarian, german and english, he rapidly established himself as an outstanding scholar, publishing books on drama and poetry, studies of ibsen and blake, and histories of.
It certainly deserves to be much better appreciated outside szerbs native country. A major classic of 1930s literature, antal szerb s journey by moonlight utas es holdvilag is the fantastically moving and darkly funny story of a bourgeois businessman torn between duty and desire. He died in a forcedlabour camp at balf in january 1945. This essay is the introduction to the new nyrb classics edition of journey by moonlight by antal szerb in august 1936, the thirtysixyearold hungarian writer antal szerb acclaimed both for his fiction and for his influential history of hungarian literaturetraveled to italy for what he. Anxious to please his bourgeois father, mihaly has joined the family firm in budapest. Journey by moonlight, antal szerb 21 february 2003 david auerbach 0 comments published by pushkin press in one of their cute, compact 5. Journey by moonlight livros na amazon brasil 9781908968029. Buy journey by moonlight nyrb classics book online at. Journey by moonlight is a wallow in nostalgia but where marais embers looked only fondly back at the hapsburg empire and all it represented, szerbs novel is a yearning for findesiecle decadence, four decades too late. Journey by moonlight nyrb classics series by antal szerb. I was drawn into the story from the beginning as i followed the protagonist, mihaly on a spontaneous escapade from his bourgeois life, as well as his newlywed.
It is perhaps not surprising that both titles refer to only a very poor source of illumination by. Antal szerbs dreamlike adventure, like bulgakovs the master and margarita, is an intoxicating, utterly individual mix of magic, madness, eros, and menace. Originally written in 1937, and here presented in a brilliant new translation by peter v. Here erzsi discovers that her new husband prefers wandering back alleys on his own to her company. Journey by moonlight nyrb classics by antal szerb author len rix translator. Full book journey by moonlight by antal szerb store phone ibooks how download free fb2. Czipott, antal szerb s gently humorous and psychologically subtle exploration into the workings of a. Antal szerb journey by moonlight world of digitals. He studied german and english literature at the university of budapest, receiving a phd in 1924. Journey by moonlight by antal szerb overdrive rakuten. A major classic of 1930s literature, antal szerbs journey by moonlight utas es holdvilag is the fantastically moving and darkly funny story of a bourgeois businessman torn between duty and desire. Antal szerbs journey by moonlight words without borders.
Home hungary antal szerb utas es holdvilag journey by moonlight antal szerb. The masterwork of antal szerb, a celebrated hungarian man of letters who is practically unknown in the englishspeaking world, journey by. It is difficult to say whether the book is happy or sad, or both, or neither. Jan 01, 2002 buy journey by moonlight by antal szerb, len rix from amazons fiction books store. Pdf journey by moonlight book by antal szerb free download. Its not the cold passionless ones who become great ascetics, but the most hotblooded, people with something worth renouncing. Published as utas es holdvilag in 1937, journey by moonlight is, superficially, yet another central european interwar novel about obsessed youth, middle age crises, and the temptations of suicide, but it offers a unique twist on that. The trouble began in venice mihaly has dreamt of italy all his life.
He tragically died in a concentration camp, beaten to death by camp guards, at the age of forty. He studied hungarian, german and later english, obtaining a doctorate in 1924. This book is the 1651st greatest fiction book of all time as determined by. His most wellknown work, journey by moonlight, written in 1937, maintained a powerful tension between bothmay szerbs reentrance into our literary pantheon be definitive. Antal szerb was a great writer, who expressed natural human emotion. He wrote several novels and a nonfiction work about literature. Antal szerb 190145 was a hungarian novelist, scholar, literary historian and translator whose works were greeted with widespread appreciation but who faced everincreasing hostility and persecution because of his jewish background. Antal szerbs 1937 journey by moonlight or, to give its title in its literal translation, traveller and the moonlight is one of the bestknown of modern hungarian novels.
Journey by moonlight by antal szerb the 1651st greatest. Antal szerb may 1, 1901, budapest january 27, 1945, balf was a noted hungarian scholar and writer. In the words of the critic nicholas lezard, no one who has read it has failed to love it. Pursued by nostalgia for his bohemian youth, he seeks escape in marriage to erzsi, not realising that she has chosen him as a means. Antal szerb, author of journey by moonlight, on librarything. Journey by moonlight nyrb classics szerb, antal, rix, len, orringer, julie on. Journey by moonlight pushkin paper antal szerb, len rix on. Hi, this is one of my favourite books, but its rarely mentioned in anywhere except here, in hungary. We owe thanks to len rix, szerbs accomplished translator, for his part in raising from the dead a writer of such cool irony and historical sympathy.
Antal szerb performs a similar journey of descent in journey by moonlight utas es holdvilag, written in 1937, in the midst of another war. Full book journey by moonlight by antal szerb store phone. Journey by moonlight livros na amazon brasil 9781908968432. Journey by moonlight by antal szerb a bag full of stories. Plus, free twoday shipping for six months when you sign up for amazon prime for students. Buy journey by moonlight by antal szerb, len rix from amazons fiction books store. Journey by moonlight by antal szerb 2001, paperback for. Written by antal szerb, it was first published in 1937. His most wellknown work, journey by moonlight, written in 1937, maintained a powerful tension between both. In this case, however, the land of the dead is not the wasteland of europes ruined culture but the hinterland of ones own memory, of ones own lost youth and the tragedies that characterized it. Journey by moonlight pushkin paper by antal szerb and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.