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Strangers in Budapest
Budapest: gorgeous city of secrets, with ties to a shadowy, bloody past. It is to this enigmatic European capital that a young American couple, Annie and Will, move from Boston with their infant son shortly after the fall of the Communist regime. For Annie, it is an effort to escape the ghosts that haunt her past, and Will wants simply to seize the chance to build a new future for his family.
Eight months after their move, their efforts to assimilate are thrown into turmoil when they receive a message from friends in the US asking that they check up on an elderly man, a fiercely independent Jewish American WWII veteran who helped free Hungarian Jews from a Nazi prison camp. They soon learn that the man, Edward Weiss, has come to Hungary to exact revenge on someone he is convinced seduced, married, and then murdered his daughter.
Annie, unable to resist anyone’s call for help, recklessly joins in the old man’s plan to track down his former son-in-law and confront him, while Will, pragmatic and cautious by nature, insists they have nothing to do with Weiss and his vendetta. What Annie does not anticipate is that in helping Edward she will become enmeshed in a dark and deadly conflict that will end in tragedy and a stunning loss of innocence.
Eight months after their move, their efforts to assimilate are thrown into turmoil when they receive a message from friends in the US asking that they check up on an elderly man, a fiercely independent Jewish American WWII veteran who helped free Hungarian Jews from a Nazi prison camp. They soon learn that the man, Edward Weiss, has come to Hungary to exact revenge on someone he is convinced seduced, married, and then murdered his daughter.
Annie, unable to resist anyone’s call for help, recklessly joins in the old man’s plan to track down his former son-in-law and confront him, while Will, pragmatic and cautious by nature, insists they have nothing to do with Weiss and his vendetta. What Annie does not anticipate is that in helping Edward she will become enmeshed in a dark and deadly conflict that will end in tragedy and a stunning loss of innocence.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published November 14, 2017
289 people are currently reading
3429 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Keener
10 books152 followersJessica is the author of five books. Her newest novel, EVENING BEGINS THE DAY, is forthcoming March 24, 2026. Her second novel, Strangers In Budapest, was named a Best Book by Entertainment Weekly, Simple.com, and Chicago Review of Books. It was an Indie Next Pick, and a Southern Independent Books Assn bestseller.
Her debut novel, Night Swim, was a national bestseller. This coming-of-age story deals with a family tragedy, set in Boston, 1970.
Her collection of award-winning stories, Women in Bed, was chosen as one of ten winter reads by Shape Magazine; and praised by Publishers Weekly for its "ability to deliver as much exquisite detail as the stories’ brevity will allow." National Book Circle Critics award winner, Edith Pearlman, lauded the collection, calling Keener “a master of immediacy." Her fiction has been recognized in The Pushcart Prize under "Outstanding Writers."
She is the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist's Grant, creative writing scholarships from Wesleyan University and Brown University, and multiple fellowships awarded by the Virginia Center for Creative Arts as well as a fellowship in Women’s Leadership from the Omega Institute in NY. Her feature articles (more than 100) have appeared in The Boston Globe; O, The Oprah Magazine, WBUR's Cognoscenti, Lilith, Design New England, Writer's Digest, and the award-winning anthology, Alone Together, Love, Grief, and Comfort in the time of Covid-19, winner of the Washington State Book Award.
Her debut novel, Night Swim, was a national bestseller. This coming-of-age story deals with a family tragedy, set in Boston, 1970.
Her collection of award-winning stories, Women in Bed, was chosen as one of ten winter reads by Shape Magazine; and praised by Publishers Weekly for its "ability to deliver as much exquisite detail as the stories’ brevity will allow." National Book Circle Critics award winner, Edith Pearlman, lauded the collection, calling Keener “a master of immediacy." Her fiction has been recognized in The Pushcart Prize under "Outstanding Writers."
She is the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist's Grant, creative writing scholarships from Wesleyan University and Brown University, and multiple fellowships awarded by the Virginia Center for Creative Arts as well as a fellowship in Women’s Leadership from the Omega Institute in NY. Her feature articles (more than 100) have appeared in The Boston Globe; O, The Oprah Magazine, WBUR's Cognoscenti, Lilith, Design New England, Writer's Digest, and the award-winning anthology, Alone Together, Love, Grief, and Comfort in the time of Covid-19, winner of the Washington State Book Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 197 reviews
June 26, 2024
There must be a genre for this style of novel that features a neurotic, anxious, unsympathetic protagonist who follows every reasonable thought with a river of doubts and counterarguments. It's the umpteenth time I've come across this character, and the disconnect of the author’s depiction of women from every woman I know makes me feel like I'm existing outside of the reality of my gender. Are women really this fragmented and wishy-washy, and do women like to read about them?
In Strangers in Budapest, bored, sweaty housewife Annie meets Mr. Weiss, an elderly American living in Budapest for yet-unknown reasons but with whom she shares mutual friends. Afterward, she has a million questions: "Why is he here? What is up with his health? Who is the woman in the photo? Why is it so hot? Should we get A/C? Who are the gypsy girls on the street? Why don't they wear shoes? Does this 'jogger' make me look American? Am I endangering my child’s health by living here? When will Hungarian restaurants ban smoking? Why aren't my husband's business ventures taking off? How can I undermine his decision-making at every turn? Why does that one man always wear sandals?"
Annie’s endless, usually negative and always nonsensical internal monologues are exhausting. Every time I put this book down I had the same feeling after meeting with an Eeyore-type friend who never has good news and always sees a glass half empty: I need a drink.
But Annie is especially indecisive and anxious. By page 10, I was convinced she was mentally ill and her downward spiral into mania was the book’s mysterious plotline. By page 50, I was positive the "mystery" was that she was fully schizophrenic and imagining all the characters, including Mr. Weiss, while locked in an insane asylum. How else to explain her remarkably patient husband while she emasculates him at every opportunity, and Mr. Weiss’s odd, prying questions about her state of mind? Annie, I reasoned, must have suffered terrible trauma, she went mad, and was now living in a straitjacket. (True, her own family experienced genuine tragedy and she is damaged by it, but perhaps now her own child has perished?) No other explanation could rationalize her inexplicable obsessions: with the social worker who oversaw her son’s adoption more than a year ago, with street gypsies and their lack of shoes, with being perceived as American—and then jogging and wearing jogging shorts everywhere—with complaining about the heat, with two dudes in shiny suits having coffee she's sure are informers, with some random woman’s “enormous breasts” (one mention should do it), with what she perceives as her husband’s inability to do or decide…anything?
It turns out Annie is neither crazy nor committed. It was just me going crazy reading this book. Annie is meant to be normal, and we are meant to sympathize with her. I completed the book to see if my insanity theory was correct (it did make sense until the last pages!) and because I adore Budapest and wanted to revisit it through literature. If you feel about Budapest as I do, there are still things to enjoy about the book: Keener includes a few Hungarian phrases, which are fun to decipher, and Annie name-drops streets and sites, so you can follow along on a map. Otherwise, Strangers in Budapest paints the city as an inhospitable, dirty, backward place and Hungarians as cold and conniving. Annie loathes her adventurous new life and is depressed, so she complains about everything.
The story takes place in the 1990s shortly after Hungary's liberation, which was arguably a fresh and exciting time to be there. Yet Annie plays the quintessential ugly American. She rails against every inconvenience and cultural norm and never learns the language, all while patting herself on the back (constantly) for not fraternizing with Americans—yet never making a single Hungarian friend, unless you count her son's babysitter, whose beliefs she likes to undermine. She's a mess of contradictions. In America, smoking was not banned in restaurants until the 2000s, but here in the 1990s, smoking in restaurants is unacceptable to Annie. Why is the book even called Strangers in Budapest? Everyone Annie meets is friendly and sociable and seems to like her very much. Why not call it Friends in Budapest?
Clearly, Annie’s crazy has rubbed off on me. (Or maybe it's just the idea of my accepting Annie as a normal, human woman fills me with despair.) If you want to keep your sanity, perhaps avoid this book.
In Strangers in Budapest, bored, sweaty housewife Annie meets Mr. Weiss, an elderly American living in Budapest for yet-unknown reasons but with whom she shares mutual friends. Afterward, she has a million questions: "Why is he here? What is up with his health? Who is the woman in the photo? Why is it so hot? Should we get A/C? Who are the gypsy girls on the street? Why don't they wear shoes? Does this 'jogger' make me look American? Am I endangering my child’s health by living here? When will Hungarian restaurants ban smoking? Why aren't my husband's business ventures taking off? How can I undermine his decision-making at every turn? Why does that one man always wear sandals?"
Annie’s endless, usually negative and always nonsensical internal monologues are exhausting. Every time I put this book down I had the same feeling after meeting with an Eeyore-type friend who never has good news and always sees a glass half empty: I need a drink.
But Annie is especially indecisive and anxious. By page 10, I was convinced she was mentally ill and her downward spiral into mania was the book’s mysterious plotline. By page 50, I was positive the "mystery" was that she was fully schizophrenic and imagining all the characters, including Mr. Weiss, while locked in an insane asylum. How else to explain her remarkably patient husband while she emasculates him at every opportunity, and Mr. Weiss’s odd, prying questions about her state of mind? Annie, I reasoned, must have suffered terrible trauma, she went mad, and was now living in a straitjacket. (True, her own family experienced genuine tragedy and she is damaged by it, but perhaps now her own child has perished?) No other explanation could rationalize her inexplicable obsessions: with the social worker who oversaw her son’s adoption more than a year ago, with street gypsies and their lack of shoes, with being perceived as American—and then jogging and wearing jogging shorts everywhere—with complaining about the heat, with two dudes in shiny suits having coffee she's sure are informers, with some random woman’s “enormous breasts” (one mention should do it), with what she perceives as her husband’s inability to do or decide…anything?
It turns out Annie is neither crazy nor committed. It was just me going crazy reading this book. Annie is meant to be normal, and we are meant to sympathize with her. I completed the book to see if my insanity theory was correct (it did make sense until the last pages!) and because I adore Budapest and wanted to revisit it through literature. If you feel about Budapest as I do, there are still things to enjoy about the book: Keener includes a few Hungarian phrases, which are fun to decipher, and Annie name-drops streets and sites, so you can follow along on a map. Otherwise, Strangers in Budapest paints the city as an inhospitable, dirty, backward place and Hungarians as cold and conniving. Annie loathes her adventurous new life and is depressed, so she complains about everything.
The story takes place in the 1990s shortly after Hungary's liberation, which was arguably a fresh and exciting time to be there. Yet Annie plays the quintessential ugly American. She rails against every inconvenience and cultural norm and never learns the language, all while patting herself on the back (constantly) for not fraternizing with Americans—yet never making a single Hungarian friend, unless you count her son's babysitter, whose beliefs she likes to undermine. She's a mess of contradictions. In America, smoking was not banned in restaurants until the 2000s, but here in the 1990s, smoking in restaurants is unacceptable to Annie. Why is the book even called Strangers in Budapest? Everyone Annie meets is friendly and sociable and seems to like her very much. Why not call it Friends in Budapest?
Clearly, Annie’s crazy has rubbed off on me. (Or maybe it's just the idea of my accepting Annie as a normal, human woman fills me with despair.) If you want to keep your sanity, perhaps avoid this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2017
What a great premise and setting but, sadly, so badly done. There was nothing literary about this, either. The main character was dense and overwrought and the prose repetitious enough that I nearly didn’t finish it. My own stubbornness and the question of how the author was going to tie everything up were the only things that keep me going but again I was disappointed in the mishandling of an interesting concept. A lot of the writing felt like filler and felt distant, though conversely the husband was one of the most one-dimensional characters I’ve read this year. I wish the author had invested as much in her characters as she did in the setting.
December 13, 2017
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
A young couple moves to Budapest. They get involved with the problems of all their new acquaintances. The wife decides to help some old Jew get revenge on his son in law, and gets them into a heap of problems.
The author tries to explain Hungary, and does a fair job.
A young couple moves to Budapest. They get involved with the problems of all their new acquaintances. The wife decides to help some old Jew get revenge on his son in law, and gets them into a heap of problems.
The author tries to explain Hungary, and does a fair job.
December 28, 2017
Unlike other reviews, I thought this was poorly written, unconvincing and depressing. Well, I suppose the latter is indisputable.
The main character is whiny and weak and had a white savior complex unalloyed with any actual skills, wisdom or thoughtfulness. I was unable to identity with her and her actions annoyed me throughout the book. I only finished the book because I didn’t bring another on my vacation.
The main character is whiny and weak and had a white savior complex unalloyed with any actual skills, wisdom or thoughtfulness. I was unable to identity with her and her actions annoyed me throughout the book. I only finished the book because I didn’t bring another on my vacation.
September 12, 2017
This exquisite novel draws the reader in from the very first pages and refuses to let go. Not only did I feel like I was in the exotic, beautiful city of Budapest, but every emotion felt by the young mother at the center of this ominous tale became my own. In STRANGERS IN BUDAPEST, Jessica Kenner proves once again that she is a brilliant, lyrical writer with a true understanding of the human heart.
May 30, 2017
I had high hopes for this novel, but unfortunately, the plot didn't maintain my attention; there wasn't enough momentum in the story to keep the pages turning. Still, I was determined to see the book through to its denouement, and my gosh, was it disappointing.
One doesn't need to necessarily like the main character, but at the very least, that figure should drive the story. Annie, I'm sorry to say, was incredibly dull and grating. Edward's character arc never shifted...I wasn't really invested in the outcome of his story. Lastly (and most frustratingly), the most interesting character (Stephen) is the least fleshed out!
One doesn't need to necessarily like the main character, but at the very least, that figure should drive the story. Annie, I'm sorry to say, was incredibly dull and grating. Edward's character arc never shifted...I wasn't really invested in the outcome of his story. Lastly (and most frustratingly), the most interesting character (Stephen) is the least fleshed out!
June 3, 2020
This is a slow mystery, or maybe not one at all. The book feels like a mix between what it's like living abroad and a thriller, with the thriller being very slow paced to almost not there.
For people wanting a quick gripping tale, this is not that book. This one will interest people who want a little adventure, while mostly staying the same.
The main character Annie is hard to fully like. She wanted to move to Budapest, encouraged her husband Will to quit his job and start to his own company, yet not one year out and she's unsure. One can forgive a little as it's understandable the moving to a foreign country isn't the easiest. But when Will is handed a solid opportunity it's hard to understand Annie's motivation for not wanting Will to accept it. She has already lost faith in the business venture, for the most part.
Anyway, this aspect of the story is more a side-plot, or a dual plot, as it does take up a lot of the text. The main plot is the "mystery" which Annie gets caught up in despite Will telling her to not get involved. An older man, who is not well is staying in the apartment of Annie's old neighbor from Boston. Annie wants to help.
Anyway, there is much more to the novel. I was interested because of the location and the time frame. There are a few moments of getting a feel for the area, the time period maybe. I'm not an expert, but felt like it could be today, a few years ago, not necessarily in the 1990's.
The book was okay, not great. I liked some of the history that was there, but so late in the book and not enough.
Book rating: 3.5 stars
Thanks to the publisher Algonquin Books and Net Galley for allowing me to read an advance copy prior to publication.
For people wanting a quick gripping tale, this is not that book. This one will interest people who want a little adventure, while mostly staying the same.
The main character Annie is hard to fully like. She wanted to move to Budapest, encouraged her husband Will to quit his job and start to his own company, yet not one year out and she's unsure. One can forgive a little as it's understandable the moving to a foreign country isn't the easiest. But when Will is handed a solid opportunity it's hard to understand Annie's motivation for not wanting Will to accept it. She has already lost faith in the business venture, for the most part.
Anyway, this aspect of the story is more a side-plot, or a dual plot, as it does take up a lot of the text. The main plot is the "mystery" which Annie gets caught up in despite Will telling her to not get involved. An older man, who is not well is staying in the apartment of Annie's old neighbor from Boston. Annie wants to help.
Anyway, there is much more to the novel. I was interested because of the location and the time frame. There are a few moments of getting a feel for the area, the time period maybe. I'm not an expert, but felt like it could be today, a few years ago, not necessarily in the 1990's.
The book was okay, not great. I liked some of the history that was there, but so late in the book and not enough.
Book rating: 3.5 stars
Thanks to the publisher Algonquin Books and Net Galley for allowing me to read an advance copy prior to publication.
February 11, 2019
Two stars is generous.
November 11, 2017
I received this book from NetGalley and Algonquin Books in exchange for an honest review. I'm giving this book 3 stars. I have to say overall I was disappointed~ I think the main reason is the lack of character development. They are all flat. Really no substance to them, and anything they did seemed as though they couldn't give any forethought to what they were about to do. We follow the lives of Annie and Will, who have made the decision to move to Hungary so that Will can pursue possible lucrative work options. At the point we meet them, eight months after their move, not much has happened as far as work and career success. Are they bored? Possibly. They receive a seemingly odd message from their former neighbour back home in Massachussetts to check up on an elderly friend of theirs in Hungary. They do so, and while Will thinks that they are no longer obligated to visit or check up on this man, Annie thinks otherwise. She becomes fixated on this idea, and from this point it becomes the focus of the story. Disappointed overall, not a recommendation.
October 19, 2017
"Strangers in Budapest" blossomed with potential. Within its pages, a story of two strangers unfolds with all of their shared grief, disappointment, and hurt - not to mention the mysterious and storied Eastern European setting. However, from the beginning, I slowly trudged along, chapter by chapter longing for the ending to come. The action unraveled slowly without much to support its delay; the first real twist didn't come until I was around two-thirds of the way through. By that point, my curiosity was long gone.
My interest piqued, however, whenever adoption was mentioned. Annie and Will, the main characters, adopted their son from birth before leaving the U.S. for Hungary. As a mom by adoption, I have strong opinions and reactions to the portrayal of adoption in literature. In this case, I fought feelings of disgust throughout in regard to Annie's immature thoughts of her child's birth family and their adoption case worker. Each person processes adoption and their experience differently, with that comes feelings and thoughts that aren't meant for public expression. However, I wished that Keener resolved these issues of Annie's in a more complete and thoughtful way; without resolution, she came across as selfish, shallow, and incomplete in regard to adoption.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
My interest piqued, however, whenever adoption was mentioned. Annie and Will, the main characters, adopted their son from birth before leaving the U.S. for Hungary. As a mom by adoption, I have strong opinions and reactions to the portrayal of adoption in literature. In this case, I fought feelings of disgust throughout in regard to Annie's immature thoughts of her child's birth family and their adoption case worker. Each person processes adoption and their experience differently, with that comes feelings and thoughts that aren't meant for public expression. However, I wished that Keener resolved these issues of Annie's in a more complete and thoughtful way; without resolution, she came across as selfish, shallow, and incomplete in regard to adoption.
I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
November 14, 2017
An enthralling, dark story of Eastern Europe in the 1990s ~ perfect for fans of travel writing and literary suspense stories.
Thanks to Algonquin for the review copy of this title - all opinions are my own.
I have been fascinated by Budapest after randomly watching an episode of House Hunters International, and have lately been reading more and more about Communism and its impact throughout the world. Those factors definitely lead into my deep appreciation of this story ~ a story equally about a historically significant city as it about family tragedies. The descriptions of the city, language and food were absolutely riveting and I inhaled this book in less than 24 hours. In addition, knowing that this book is largely based on the author's own experiences living in Budapest made it even more fascinating - I loved her essay in the Algonquin Reader about her motivation for this book.
If you want to experience a Eastern European country in a time not-long past, and want detailed history and literary social commentary, this one is a must-read. For suspense fans, this is a slow burn and should be entered into with more of an expectation of a tense, dark drama rather than a fast-paced mystery. Highly recommend to geeky readers like myself!
Thanks to Algonquin for the review copy of this title - all opinions are my own.
I have been fascinated by Budapest after randomly watching an episode of House Hunters International, and have lately been reading more and more about Communism and its impact throughout the world. Those factors definitely lead into my deep appreciation of this story ~ a story equally about a historically significant city as it about family tragedies. The descriptions of the city, language and food were absolutely riveting and I inhaled this book in less than 24 hours. In addition, knowing that this book is largely based on the author's own experiences living in Budapest made it even more fascinating - I loved her essay in the Algonquin Reader about her motivation for this book.
If you want to experience a Eastern European country in a time not-long past, and want detailed history and literary social commentary, this one is a must-read. For suspense fans, this is a slow burn and should be entered into with more of an expectation of a tense, dark drama rather than a fast-paced mystery. Highly recommend to geeky readers like myself!
November 19, 2018
I have one thing to say about this book and and to the deep knowledge the author seems to feel she possesses about Hungary and Hungarians after a brief one year spent there some 24 years ago - 'szia' is a Hungarian word and not one that the Hungarian language 'adopted' to sound American as the author falsely assumes, 'so typical of Hungary to adopt a greeting for hello that sounded like good-bye in America. It was yet another example of opposites embedded deep in the Hungarian psyche, where losers were winners and winners never won' (p288).
December 2, 2018
A young American couple with their infant move to post-Communist Budapest as expats. They cross paths with Will, a U.S. World War II vet, who has come to Eastern Europe to find the man whom married, and he believes, killed his daughter. I was drawn to this novel by my love of all things Central and Eastern Europe but I was won by Keener's smart, riveting and unexpected tale.
Read
March 21, 2020This looked promising at the library--a young American couple living in Budapest in the 1990s are asked to check up on an elderly Jewish American there, only to learn he's in pursuit of a son-in-law whom he believes murdered his daughter.
Well, I'm afraid that it was not for me, which aligns me with quite a few other readers (vs those who just adored it).
I could tell while reading it that this was a book some people would love even though it was seriously grating on my nerves, and that made me curious, as a writer, to figure out just what got on my nerves about it. This process actually kept me awake for awhile last night. So here are some thoughts.
I found myself repeatedly gnashing my teeth at the protagonist, Annie, but I didn't like any of the other characters much either. Asking myself why, initially I thought well, I don't tend to enjoy feckless privileged Americans either in person or in literature, and Annie certainly came off as one of those. She was naive on topics that she really should not have been, like common methods of street theft and attitudes toward the Roma. I didn't so much mind that she was portrayed as interested in Budapest and being in Hungary but hadn't yet learned much about Hungarian life, because it does take awhile to acclimate in a completely new country. But then Annie suddenly "realized" that she didn't want to be there--this was a lost opportunity for the author, because it seemed to me that Annie had been in Budapest just long enough to feel lost and homesick and question why she was there, and these feelings were treated entirely from Annie's point of view, which was not an insightful one. First she assumes she likes Budapest, then she decides she's miserable there. This is very common among expats and students abroad, and the reader could have learned about the phenomenon. Get us out of Annie's limited, neurotic head!
I then realized that it wasn't simply that I didn't like the characters (and I don't feel I have to admire or sympathize with characters). The book was third-person, but was alternately from Annie's point of view and from the elderly Edward's point of view, and while the snippets of Edward's anger and kvetching were tolerable (they were fairly short), being trapped in endless description of Annie's feelings was maddening. It occurred to me that had the author left out most of the interior and stuck mainly to dialog and externals, I might have liked the book reasonably well. I might even have liked Annie had I met her, because after all, she's kind-hearted, and sometimes it's just best not to know your acquaintances too well and discover how neurotic and stupid they can be.
So although I don't especially find feckless Americans, or western capitalists abroad, particularly appealing people, it was being mired in the heads of two singularly deluded people (one naive, the other cynical and suspicious), via a writing style that was wretchedly overheated, that made me dislike this book.
As for the descriptions of Budapest in the 1990s, I neither loved nor hated them. I've been to the city several times, but later, so I recognized some locations; and some aspects of the city in the 90s would have been similar to Prague, which I've visited both before and after the 90s (less during). But I wouldn't say the descriptions vividly evoked the city for me, they just didn't strike me as badly done (the author did spend time in Budapest back then).
Well, I'm afraid that it was not for me, which aligns me with quite a few other readers (vs those who just adored it).
I could tell while reading it that this was a book some people would love even though it was seriously grating on my nerves, and that made me curious, as a writer, to figure out just what got on my nerves about it. This process actually kept me awake for awhile last night. So here are some thoughts.
I found myself repeatedly gnashing my teeth at the protagonist, Annie, but I didn't like any of the other characters much either. Asking myself why, initially I thought well, I don't tend to enjoy feckless privileged Americans either in person or in literature, and Annie certainly came off as one of those. She was naive on topics that she really should not have been, like common methods of street theft and attitudes toward the Roma. I didn't so much mind that she was portrayed as interested in Budapest and being in Hungary but hadn't yet learned much about Hungarian life, because it does take awhile to acclimate in a completely new country. But then Annie suddenly "realized" that she didn't want to be there--this was a lost opportunity for the author, because it seemed to me that Annie had been in Budapest just long enough to feel lost and homesick and question why she was there, and these feelings were treated entirely from Annie's point of view, which was not an insightful one. First she assumes she likes Budapest, then she decides she's miserable there. This is very common among expats and students abroad, and the reader could have learned about the phenomenon. Get us out of Annie's limited, neurotic head!
I then realized that it wasn't simply that I didn't like the characters (and I don't feel I have to admire or sympathize with characters). The book was third-person, but was alternately from Annie's point of view and from the elderly Edward's point of view, and while the snippets of Edward's anger and kvetching were tolerable (they were fairly short), being trapped in endless description of Annie's feelings was maddening. It occurred to me that had the author left out most of the interior and stuck mainly to dialog and externals, I might have liked the book reasonably well. I might even have liked Annie had I met her, because after all, she's kind-hearted, and sometimes it's just best not to know your acquaintances too well and discover how neurotic and stupid they can be.
So although I don't especially find feckless Americans, or western capitalists abroad, particularly appealing people, it was being mired in the heads of two singularly deluded people (one naive, the other cynical and suspicious), via a writing style that was wretchedly overheated, that made me dislike this book.
As for the descriptions of Budapest in the 1990s, I neither loved nor hated them. I've been to the city several times, but later, so I recognized some locations; and some aspects of the city in the 90s would have been similar to Prague, which I've visited both before and after the 90s (less during). But I wouldn't say the descriptions vividly evoked the city for me, they just didn't strike me as badly done (the author did spend time in Budapest back then).
November 8, 2017
So, yeah. This is a little awkward.
This review is of Strangers in Budapest by Jessica Keener. Full disclosure: I received this eARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review. (Thanks NetGalley!)
So, fair and honest it will be.
I didn’t like this book very much. I gave it 2 stars on Goodreads. I see that others liked it quite a bit and I respect that and I’m not going to trash it, but I just didn’t like it very much at all. I’m not someone who goes to a restaurant looking for things to nitpik. I want to be pleased. I just wasn’t.
To work on the positive side, the book did eventually work itself up to a dramatic conclusion which was good to read.
Beyond that, though, I just found the storytelling incredibly stilted and awkward.
For example, the following construction occurs over and over in the book:
“You’re a man of questions this morning,” Bernardo said to Will, obviously enjoying Will’s interrogations.
First, that’s an awkward way for someone to talk, but the tag on the end is just very difficult for a reader, in my opinion. It separates the reader from the story and the action. I just think it would be stronger if it actually was obvious, as opposed to having it explained. And, this construction is used over and over in the book.
Second, people who have commented on the book feel like Budapest became a character in the book. That was clearly the objective–to portray it as a kind of inscrutable city with a lot of secrets and a dark, hidden side. Having said that, while I understood that was the idea, I never really felt it. I read Leaving Berlin recently, and that book captured a city way better than this one did, as did Gentlemen in Moscow.
Also, all the dark actions taken were taken by Americans living in Budapest, so maybe it isn’t Budapest that was dark.
Speaking of which, there’s an overly broad scene where American women who live in Budapest talk just the way you’d expect them to.
And, at one point, a main character–an American–talks about Budapest like he ate a Wikipedia entry about the city. And a chain-smoking “escort” is thrown into the story for no apparent reason.
Anyway, other people have enjoyed this book. I wasn’t one of them, but people’s views can vary.
This review is of Strangers in Budapest by Jessica Keener. Full disclosure: I received this eARC from NetGalley for a fair and honest review. (Thanks NetGalley!)
So, fair and honest it will be.
I didn’t like this book very much. I gave it 2 stars on Goodreads. I see that others liked it quite a bit and I respect that and I’m not going to trash it, but I just didn’t like it very much at all. I’m not someone who goes to a restaurant looking for things to nitpik. I want to be pleased. I just wasn’t.
To work on the positive side, the book did eventually work itself up to a dramatic conclusion which was good to read.
Beyond that, though, I just found the storytelling incredibly stilted and awkward.
For example, the following construction occurs over and over in the book:
“You’re a man of questions this morning,” Bernardo said to Will, obviously enjoying Will’s interrogations.
First, that’s an awkward way for someone to talk, but the tag on the end is just very difficult for a reader, in my opinion. It separates the reader from the story and the action. I just think it would be stronger if it actually was obvious, as opposed to having it explained. And, this construction is used over and over in the book.
Second, people who have commented on the book feel like Budapest became a character in the book. That was clearly the objective–to portray it as a kind of inscrutable city with a lot of secrets and a dark, hidden side. Having said that, while I understood that was the idea, I never really felt it. I read Leaving Berlin recently, and that book captured a city way better than this one did, as did Gentlemen in Moscow.
Also, all the dark actions taken were taken by Americans living in Budapest, so maybe it isn’t Budapest that was dark.
Speaking of which, there’s an overly broad scene where American women who live in Budapest talk just the way you’d expect them to.
And, at one point, a main character–an American–talks about Budapest like he ate a Wikipedia entry about the city. And a chain-smoking “escort” is thrown into the story for no apparent reason.
Anyway, other people have enjoyed this book. I wasn’t one of them, but people’s views can vary.
August 31, 2017
Haunting, gorgeously written masterpiece. I loved Keener's critically acclaimed bestseller Night Swim, but this novel is even better. She crafts a storyworld that is so real, you swear you are on the cobbled streets and she understands what goes on between couples, fathers and daughters, and ex-pats and natives.
Listen, if you are wanting to read another Girl on the Train novel, this isn't it. Instead, it's literature, and that makes all the difference. I loved this gorgeous book.
Listen, if you are wanting to read another Girl on the Train novel, this isn't it. Instead, it's literature, and that makes all the difference. I loved this gorgeous book.
November 4, 2017
The book’s premise, the descriptions of the landscape, and the insights into the culture of Hungary are all engaging. The scene of plot resolution is intense and effective. There were just too many inconsistencies in the writing quality and sections that felt drawn out unnecessarily for the book to go beyond mediocre for me.
December 12, 2017
This is an absorbing, beautifully written, and poignant page-turner, which I recommend most highly. The story of Annie and her family’s time in Budapest made me want to return to the book when I was away from it, and I was sorry to see it end, although I was glad to learn the resolution of the intelligent and suspenseful questions raised by the plot. The characters and their story are compelling, and so is the vivid, colorful depiction of the setting – I felt as if I were right there, watching it all play out before me. Original and fresh. A great read.
December 2, 2017
Although this gorgeous novel was compellingly suspenseful and pulled at me to read quickly, I did what I do with books I love best: stretched it out by reading a chapter or two each night. Most of those nights found me debating myself about reading further, but the part of me that loves having a good novel in my hand to savor won out. I forced myself to leave the final three chapters for tonight, and considered saving them for another night to avoid finishing. The beauty in this novel for me is its measured pace and elegant writing, though when I say elegant I mean direct and clean, pared to its most essential perfect lines. It’s a pleasure as a reader to settle in and let an author tell a story so well. It’s a story about love and loss and grief and also hope and figuring out old wounds. If it were a film (and if we’re lucky it will be), it would be a little grainy, with deep, rich colors and shadows and shimmering, brilliant light. Highly recommend. It’s a perfect book to read this time of year.
December 21, 2017
This is a somewhat strange novel.
Annie and Will have come to Budapest from the Boston area for his independent business opportunity. They are adoptive parents of a year old adorable boy, Leo. Annie is trying to live the Hungarian experience without benefit of the American community in Budapest. They have been in Hungary for about 8 months when their old neighbors ask them to check on a man living in their old apartment; Budapest is experiencing a severe heatwave and Edward is elderly and not in the best of health. From the first look of the peep hole in the door, Edward is less than welcoming, irascible, cantankerous, unfriendly, insulting and much more but there is something about him that worries Annie and she is compelled to visit him again and learn his story. She is drawn into Edward's agenda both voluntarily and involuntarily.
This story has a tense and dark aura about it. Although relatively predictable, I found myself pulled in and waiting. The description of life in Hungary is dark, dreary and depressing as is the description of it's history (brief excerpts) and the demeanor of it's people. The atmosphere is rich yet poor with entrepreneurs trying to modernize while the locals are wary of everything, car theft and robbery scams prevail and Gypsies are a common site.
An unusual read with a few aspects that either confused or maybe were meant to complicate the plot. The characters were always very thirsty and drinking water and the subversive threat of danger to young Leo was confusing and never really led to anything within the story added to the tension of anticipation within this story.
The 3 is generous; it is suspenseful and intriguing but predictable and somewhat disappointing in it's conclusion .
Annie and Will have come to Budapest from the Boston area for his independent business opportunity. They are adoptive parents of a year old adorable boy, Leo. Annie is trying to live the Hungarian experience without benefit of the American community in Budapest. They have been in Hungary for about 8 months when their old neighbors ask them to check on a man living in their old apartment; Budapest is experiencing a severe heatwave and Edward is elderly and not in the best of health. From the first look of the peep hole in the door, Edward is less than welcoming, irascible, cantankerous, unfriendly, insulting and much more but there is something about him that worries Annie and she is compelled to visit him again and learn his story. She is drawn into Edward's agenda both voluntarily and involuntarily.
This story has a tense and dark aura about it. Although relatively predictable, I found myself pulled in and waiting. The description of life in Hungary is dark, dreary and depressing as is the description of it's history (brief excerpts) and the demeanor of it's people. The atmosphere is rich yet poor with entrepreneurs trying to modernize while the locals are wary of everything, car theft and robbery scams prevail and Gypsies are a common site.
An unusual read with a few aspects that either confused or maybe were meant to complicate the plot. The characters were always very thirsty and drinking water and the subversive threat of danger to young Leo was confusing and never really led to anything within the story added to the tension of anticipation within this story.
The 3 is generous; it is suspenseful and intriguing but predictable and somewhat disappointing in it's conclusion .
December 28, 2019
Murder or not murder? The accused departs the scene and starts a new life. He appears genuine and likable but is there an evil side? What is the truth? This plot is not new. It has been told time and time again. But inserting this script into Budapest after fleeing from Boston seemed like a decent shot at a good story. Especially for me... since I have visited the city 10-12 times and spent several years residing in the eastern part of the country (Debrecen).
I felt like this book had so much potential but appears to be devoid of any editing or proofing. Raw. I am certainly biased having spent so much time in Hungary and having established real relationships within the local community. I also don't feel that Jessica Keener did a good job portraying the Hungarian. Where did this neo-nazi, hating the jewish, stuck in WWII philosophy come from? So odd. I realize this story takes place in 1995... but in my experience the recent history of the Soviet occupation shaped the 1990s time period. Not the second world war. Sure WWII is still a real thing that did impact the country in very concrete ways. But I never heard one antisemitic comment. Not one in 3+ years. The random gypsy inserts also felt like the tale of a misinformed individual.
Keener's description of the city having 100 years of grim is pretty accurate and I loved the party scene with palinka toasts. I might go down a shot of palinka after writing this review. But I was hoping for something better from this book.
I felt like this book had so much potential but appears to be devoid of any editing or proofing. Raw. I am certainly biased having spent so much time in Hungary and having established real relationships within the local community. I also don't feel that Jessica Keener did a good job portraying the Hungarian. Where did this neo-nazi, hating the jewish, stuck in WWII philosophy come from? So odd. I realize this story takes place in 1995... but in my experience the recent history of the Soviet occupation shaped the 1990s time period. Not the second world war. Sure WWII is still a real thing that did impact the country in very concrete ways. But I never heard one antisemitic comment. Not one in 3+ years. The random gypsy inserts also felt like the tale of a misinformed individual.
Keener's description of the city having 100 years of grim is pretty accurate and I loved the party scene with palinka toasts. I might go down a shot of palinka after writing this review. But I was hoping for something better from this book.
August 31, 2024
Will and Annie might be at loose ends in Budapest, but the elderly man they check on during a heatwave has no questions about what he is in the city to do in Jessica Keener’s Strangers in Budapest. Will and Annie are in the city to try and get Will’s cell phone business up and running. Unfortunately, Will keeps hitting dead ends. Meanwhile, Annie only has her jogging and intermittent parenting to occupy her. But Edward Weiss, the elderly man they meet one hot day, is in the city for vengeance. I’ll be blunt. This little summary makes the book sound a lot more interesting than it actually is. I was frequently frustrated with the way the plot fails to progress in any meaningful way for most of the book...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and Edelweiss for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and Edelweiss for review consideration.
July 16, 2019
Okay. I am going to say it. This book was awful. Awful because it had such potential and was peppered with wonderful depictions of the city of Budapest in the late 1990's yet still managed to be melodramatic, trite and superficial. I loved the premise (see other reviews for a more detailed plot explanation) but grew increasingly frustrated with the neuroses of the Annie character who seemed in dire need of anxiolytics. And Edward was depicted just short of the falling into the grave and harboring some serious anger issues. Annie's naiveté regarding the Roma people was similarly appalling. I hated how the author had a tendency to interject characters recalling prior events over and over again - the perseveration was exasperating. Truthfully I am not sure why I even finished the novel yet I did and the ending did not bring everything to a nice conclusion either. If you happened to pick this book up and are intrigued by the cover art, I'd say drop it and just walk away. I wish I did.
October 6, 2018
Not a bad book at all... But not great either. Fascinating to see how the different lives and stories weave together. Altogether a more realistic depiction of how people might act in certain circumstances. I really enjoyed the piecemeal descriptions of certain events (in regards to Tracy, but I won't say more and ruin anything). For every thing I enjoyed, there was something I didn't enjoy. Will was not developed very well. Edward's sections were written in short, choppy sentences, most likely to depict his fractured state of mind. I've seen this done well, but this wasn't it. I feel like things with his health were either not researched very well or there was something pretty big left out. Agnes felt unnecessary.
I won't caution anyone away from this book, but I can't say I recommend it either.
I won't caution anyone away from this book, but I can't say I recommend it either.
May 6, 2018
Although it definitely drew me in at the beginning, nothing really happens in this book until the last the last 30 pages! I thought I'd never get through it. It is certainly not a page turner as some have avowed, and though the premise had promise (!), it failed to deliver. I feel I'm being generous giving it a 3 (really a 2.5). So disappointed.
October 28, 2017
I was first drawn to this book by the idea of an American couple along with their infant son moving to Budapest right after the fall of the communist regime. That story alone would have led me to read this book, but then you also throw in an elderly World War II veteran who saved countless Hungarian Jews from Nazi camps that is in Budapest for mysterious reasons and I knew I had to read this book.
Annie and Will along with their newly adopted infant son move to Budapest in 1995. Will is trying to start a company that will help the citizens of Budapest. The couple soon find that things move very slowly in Budapest and that the leaders of cities say things they don't mean and move on plans at a snails pace.
Eight months into living in Budapest Annie and Will receive a request from their former neighbor in America to check on a friend who is staying in their flat in Budapest. He is an elderly gentleman who isn't in great health and since it's been very hot in the city the neighbor is worried about him.
"Temperatures had turned lethal these past weeks. The summer of 1995 was breaking records for the longest stretch of days over ninety degrees, according to Radio Free Europe, the station she listened to every morning since coming here eight months ago. Already a dozen elderly had died. More deaths expected, no end in sight, the announcer had warned in the Euro-British broadcaster's accent she'd grown accustomed to."
Annie and Will set off in the heat with their son, Leo, to check on Mr. Weiss. They found him alive and enduring the heat. He did seem ill and Annie was very worried about him. Annie convinced Edward to let her check in on him. Soon Annie is drawn in to caring for Edward Weiss and also the story of why he's in Budapest.
Edward lost his oldest daughter, Deborah, a few months prior. He is convinced that Deborah's husband is to blame for her death. He has come all the way to Budapest to search out the husband and seek revenge for the death of his daughter. But, now that he's there his health is declining and he's having a hard time getting around.
Annie is unsure of Edward's story, but she's willing to help an elderly man. I got the sense that Annie liked being needed. She hadn't made many friends in Budapest and now she had a friend and someone who needed her help.
I was not expecting the twist this book takes! After being shown a picture of Deborah's husband by Edward Annie realizes that she knows him, but he goes by a different name in Budapest than he did in The States. Things quickly spiral out of control and I breathlessly flipped pages through the last portion of this book!
"How had she allowed herself to be so convincingly deceived? Could she really blame it on the fact that she was a woman feeling estranged in a stranger's land?"
I highly recommend Strangers in Budapest! It is a book with a great setting and a story that kept me guessing until the very end.
Annie and Will along with their newly adopted infant son move to Budapest in 1995. Will is trying to start a company that will help the citizens of Budapest. The couple soon find that things move very slowly in Budapest and that the leaders of cities say things they don't mean and move on plans at a snails pace.
Eight months into living in Budapest Annie and Will receive a request from their former neighbor in America to check on a friend who is staying in their flat in Budapest. He is an elderly gentleman who isn't in great health and since it's been very hot in the city the neighbor is worried about him.
"Temperatures had turned lethal these past weeks. The summer of 1995 was breaking records for the longest stretch of days over ninety degrees, according to Radio Free Europe, the station she listened to every morning since coming here eight months ago. Already a dozen elderly had died. More deaths expected, no end in sight, the announcer had warned in the Euro-British broadcaster's accent she'd grown accustomed to."
Annie and Will set off in the heat with their son, Leo, to check on Mr. Weiss. They found him alive and enduring the heat. He did seem ill and Annie was very worried about him. Annie convinced Edward to let her check in on him. Soon Annie is drawn in to caring for Edward Weiss and also the story of why he's in Budapest.
Edward lost his oldest daughter, Deborah, a few months prior. He is convinced that Deborah's husband is to blame for her death. He has come all the way to Budapest to search out the husband and seek revenge for the death of his daughter. But, now that he's there his health is declining and he's having a hard time getting around.
Annie is unsure of Edward's story, but she's willing to help an elderly man. I got the sense that Annie liked being needed. She hadn't made many friends in Budapest and now she had a friend and someone who needed her help.
I was not expecting the twist this book takes! After being shown a picture of Deborah's husband by Edward Annie realizes that she knows him, but he goes by a different name in Budapest than he did in The States. Things quickly spiral out of control and I breathlessly flipped pages through the last portion of this book!
"How had she allowed herself to be so convincingly deceived? Could she really blame it on the fact that she was a woman feeling estranged in a stranger's land?"
I highly recommend Strangers in Budapest! It is a book with a great setting and a story that kept me guessing until the very end.
December 25, 2022
I read Strangers in Budapest because I recently visited that city and I was curious about depictions of it in fiction. I loved how the author shows us the city through the eyes of the protagonist, rather than just delivering a travelogue, and it was fun to see these places in print, although how they existed 30 years before I saw them in person. I also find the experience of expats to be intriguing; during the time period of this novel, I had been living for several years in Asia.
The story revolves around a young mother who moves to Budapest with her husband who is exploring business opportunities in the years following the fall of Communism in Hungary. It was a heady time there, but also very challenging, and full of potential dangers. It's no wonder that the protagonist is somewhat neurotic, questioning everything that happens. It's a relatively fast-paced book, including some plot twists that make it quite interesting.
The story revolves around a young mother who moves to Budapest with her husband who is exploring business opportunities in the years following the fall of Communism in Hungary. It was a heady time there, but also very challenging, and full of potential dangers. It's no wonder that the protagonist is somewhat neurotic, questioning everything that happens. It's a relatively fast-paced book, including some plot twists that make it quite interesting.
Read
December 21, 2017Usually, being worldly and having traveled to other locations is a good thing. It allows you to learn more about other cultures, absorb history outside of textbooks, and expand your horizons. However, there are times when having traveled has its drawbacks, like when what you know from firsthand experience does not mirror what authors put into their novels. Not only does it ruin the reading experience for you, it sets a somewhat dangerous precedent for future readers as they will go on to assume the author has done his or her due diligence and is a subject matter expert. This is where I find myself upon reading Jessica Keener’s Strangers in Budapest.
Set in 1995 Budapest, the story is about an expat couple that gets involved in a stranger’s personal business. The story itself is odd. There is nothing connecting the stranger to the couple other than an old neighbor and a large amount of coincidences. That this young mother would involve herself in someone else’s business is laudable but still strange, especially as her son is so young. My problems with the story involve more than the plot, even though I do find it problematic. My problems involve Annie’s behavior and how Ms. Keener chooses to portray Budapest.
First, let me address my problems with Annie. She does not want to get to know other expat women because she does not want to limit her circle, but she has no other friends outside of her husband. In that regard, she is a snob, looking down on other Americans spending their time together and thinking herself better than them because she is trying to immerse herself in the environment. I understand wanting the immersion but thinking yourself better than your fellow citizens is pretty rude and lacking in self-awareness. Then she gets involved in this old man’s vendetta, which is understandable only given how bored she is even though that is a poor excuse. Lastly, as much as she professes to love her son and adore him (and even obsessively worries about her adoption case handler coming over from the US to tell her the adoption is fake), she is almost never with her son. Most of her interactions involve her leaving him with the babysitter and going off by herself or with her husband. Her thoughts are at odds with her actions, and the frequency with which she left her son with the sitter began to anger me. I never took to Annie as a character, so I might have been projecting my dislike to her actions. Still, when you are looking for reasons to dislike a character even more than you already do, the character is probably not a well-written one.
My biggest issue with the story however is not the character but rather Budapest 1995 as Ms. Keener imagines it. Let me tell you, the Budapest in the novel is not real-life Budapest. The Budapest Ms. Keener describes is very modern and very Western. She mentions some of the Soviet buildings, the cars, and the general air of secrecy, but to me, the mentions are more of an afterthought. Anyone who has traveled to a formerly communist Eastern European country within the last decade knows that the influence of the Soviet regime is still there in some form or another. And we are talking about two to three decades after it all fell apart for the Soviets. In 1995, the influence of the Soviet regime would still be prevalent, not an afterthought. It would appear in every person’s actions and reactions and would be felt in every aspect of the culture. Ms. Keener’s few mentions hide or ignore what was the single-most influence on that region and one that was not swept away in the course of four years.
If this was not enough of a detraction to an already mediocre story, the appearance and usage of the cell phone was the proverbial nail in the coffin. Ms. Keener has Annie and almost all of the other characters use cell phones as they go about their business in Budapest in 1995. Folks, I lived in Europe in 1998, and I know that while cell phones were a lot more popular in Europe than they were in the United States at that time they were still not the dominating method of communication. I also know that in 1995, cell phone usage was still not a popular thing. In fact, I tested my memory and confirmed that in the United Kingdom in 1995 only seven percent of the population was using them. If the United Kingdom had little cell phone usage in 1995, there is no way that Budapest would have had greater market penetration. The city simply did not have the money or the infrastructure to add cell phone coverage. Given that understanding and background knowledge, once Annie pulled out her cell phone and traded calls with others on their cell phones, I was done.
I am sure my focus on the inaccuracies of the setting of the novel skewed my perceptions of the overall story. However, I do struggle to understand how an author could do so little research into the setting of a novel or make a conscious choice not to make sure the details of the setting are correct. I have never really experienced this sort of thing in any novel, so I am a bit baffled by it. I worry too that other readers of Strangers in Budapest will get the wrong impression about Budapest in the mid-1990s, that they will think cell phone usage was common and that other than stinky cars and a few depressing buildings the city was the same as it is now. The history lover in me despairs at this as something I just cannot overlook. Combine that with a character who frankly drove me batty with her obsessive worries and nosy behavior, and we have a novel that I cannot say I enjoyed in any way.
Set in 1995 Budapest, the story is about an expat couple that gets involved in a stranger’s personal business. The story itself is odd. There is nothing connecting the stranger to the couple other than an old neighbor and a large amount of coincidences. That this young mother would involve herself in someone else’s business is laudable but still strange, especially as her son is so young. My problems with the story involve more than the plot, even though I do find it problematic. My problems involve Annie’s behavior and how Ms. Keener chooses to portray Budapest.
First, let me address my problems with Annie. She does not want to get to know other expat women because she does not want to limit her circle, but she has no other friends outside of her husband. In that regard, she is a snob, looking down on other Americans spending their time together and thinking herself better than them because she is trying to immerse herself in the environment. I understand wanting the immersion but thinking yourself better than your fellow citizens is pretty rude and lacking in self-awareness. Then she gets involved in this old man’s vendetta, which is understandable only given how bored she is even though that is a poor excuse. Lastly, as much as she professes to love her son and adore him (and even obsessively worries about her adoption case handler coming over from the US to tell her the adoption is fake), she is almost never with her son. Most of her interactions involve her leaving him with the babysitter and going off by herself or with her husband. Her thoughts are at odds with her actions, and the frequency with which she left her son with the sitter began to anger me. I never took to Annie as a character, so I might have been projecting my dislike to her actions. Still, when you are looking for reasons to dislike a character even more than you already do, the character is probably not a well-written one.
My biggest issue with the story however is not the character but rather Budapest 1995 as Ms. Keener imagines it. Let me tell you, the Budapest in the novel is not real-life Budapest. The Budapest Ms. Keener describes is very modern and very Western. She mentions some of the Soviet buildings, the cars, and the general air of secrecy, but to me, the mentions are more of an afterthought. Anyone who has traveled to a formerly communist Eastern European country within the last decade knows that the influence of the Soviet regime is still there in some form or another. And we are talking about two to three decades after it all fell apart for the Soviets. In 1995, the influence of the Soviet regime would still be prevalent, not an afterthought. It would appear in every person’s actions and reactions and would be felt in every aspect of the culture. Ms. Keener’s few mentions hide or ignore what was the single-most influence on that region and one that was not swept away in the course of four years.
If this was not enough of a detraction to an already mediocre story, the appearance and usage of the cell phone was the proverbial nail in the coffin. Ms. Keener has Annie and almost all of the other characters use cell phones as they go about their business in Budapest in 1995. Folks, I lived in Europe in 1998, and I know that while cell phones were a lot more popular in Europe than they were in the United States at that time they were still not the dominating method of communication. I also know that in 1995, cell phone usage was still not a popular thing. In fact, I tested my memory and confirmed that in the United Kingdom in 1995 only seven percent of the population was using them. If the United Kingdom had little cell phone usage in 1995, there is no way that Budapest would have had greater market penetration. The city simply did not have the money or the infrastructure to add cell phone coverage. Given that understanding and background knowledge, once Annie pulled out her cell phone and traded calls with others on their cell phones, I was done.
I am sure my focus on the inaccuracies of the setting of the novel skewed my perceptions of the overall story. However, I do struggle to understand how an author could do so little research into the setting of a novel or make a conscious choice not to make sure the details of the setting are correct. I have never really experienced this sort of thing in any novel, so I am a bit baffled by it. I worry too that other readers of Strangers in Budapest will get the wrong impression about Budapest in the mid-1990s, that they will think cell phone usage was common and that other than stinky cars and a few depressing buildings the city was the same as it is now. The history lover in me despairs at this as something I just cannot overlook. Combine that with a character who frankly drove me batty with her obsessive worries and nosy behavior, and we have a novel that I cannot say I enjoyed in any way.
July 25, 2024
No Spoilers.
Very fun read, written similarly to the style of Liane Moriarty.
If you want a glimpse into current life in Budapest, and/or a glimpse into early post-Soviet Budapest, give this a shot!
Very fun read, written similarly to the style of Liane Moriarty.
If you want a glimpse into current life in Budapest, and/or a glimpse into early post-Soviet Budapest, give this a shot!
January 13, 2018
3.5 stars. This book was not quite what I expected. I have been to Budapest, so I did enjoy reading more about expats living in the city.
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