The Book of Mordechai and Lazarus: Two Novels

by Gábor Schein, Adam Z. Levy, Ottilie Mulzet (Translator)

The Book of Mordechai tells the story of three generations in a Hungarian Jewish family, interwoven with the biblical narrative of Esther. Lazarus relates the relationship between a son, growing up in the in the final decades of late-communist Hungary, and his father, who survived the depredations of Hungarian fascists during the Second World War.

Genres: Hungary

232 pages, Hardcover

Published November 15, 2017

Reviews

[J.C. Greenway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over the lockdown, Seagull Books gave away a cornucopia of world literature to readers. I chose The Book of Mordechai and Lazarus by Gábor Schein from their new Hungarian List as there is a definite gap in my reading, although I have read a lot about the Holocaust, I haven't read enough of what happened to the Hungarian Jews and to Hungary in the post-War years, unless it was a a result of what was happening elsewhere.

If The Book of Mordechai is an attempt to recreate a family history out of fragments passed down through generations, Lazarus is more tightly focussed on a father, M., who is an over-sized presence, then diminished, then gone, leaving his son to put together memories and wrestle with understanding. Expressly forbidden to write about his father's final illness and death, Péter is nevertheless doing so, 'in defiance of your prohibition.'

The late twentieth century has cast a long shadow and, as the generation who lived through it are reaching old age and leaving us to reckon with a world where the far right are again up to no good - particularly but not solely in Hungary - thoughtful reflections such as The Book of Mordechai and Lazarus are needed more than ever.

Read my full review here at my website ten million hardbacks.