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Café Budapest
After a perilous journey from Prague, the penniless and exhausted KOHUT family—Willy, Sophie and Pavel—reach Paris. They are desperate to find a way to join relatives in London but with Germany threatening to invade Holland and Belgium, routes across the Channel are blocked. France starts to mobilize her army and strengthen defenses. The Allies declare war on Germany. Hoping to earn some money and find an escape route, Willy signs up with the reconstituted Czechoslovak army based in the south of France, under French military command. Sophie, still with Pavel in Paris finds part-time work at CAFÉ BUDAPEST, run by an old Hungarian baker and his wife. A few weeks later, Pavel and Sophie flee south only to be swept up in the panic when France surrenders. In an emergency evacuation, the Kohut family along with thousands of Czechoslovak soldiers and refugees are evacuated by the British Navy to Gibraltar. Britain faces the Axis powers alone. The future is uncertain.
350 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 11, 2018
11 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Peter Curtis
3 books5 followersMy family lived in Prague and I was 3 when the Nazis invadedCzechoslovakia. We escaped through Hungary, Germany and France to Britain. I grew up in Britain and trained as a physician. Ended up a country doctor in Winchester. Married with 2 boys, who are now grown. We moved to the USA in 1976 and I taught students and residents and practised clinical care at the UNC Medical School in North Carolina. for 35 years.
I wrote short stories and started my trilogy based on my family's escape in WW2
First Vol = The Dragontail Buttonhole. 2016
Second Vol= Cafe Budapest, 2017. One of KIRKUS top 100 Indie books of 2018. Nancy Pearl Award for Historical Fiction
Third Vol = Pavel's War. Published Nov 2019
I wrote short stories and started my trilogy based on my family's escape in WW2
First Vol = The Dragontail Buttonhole. 2016
Second Vol= Cafe Budapest, 2017. One of KIRKUS top 100 Indie books of 2018. Nancy Pearl Award for Historical Fiction
Third Vol = Pavel's War. Published Nov 2019
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 14, 2018
About a year ago, I read THE DRAGONTAIL BUTTONHOLE the first book in trilogy by PETER CURTIS in which he details his family's flight from Prague after the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939. That story read like the best spy fiction of that period of infamy. Peter has followed that story with CAFE BUDAPEST.
After an unbelievable trek by train, car and train again, Willie (dad), Sophie (mom) and Pavel (son) have arrived in Paris. They are virtually broke. Willie has hidden a secret supply of gold coins in the heel of one shoe (shades of Bond, James Bond). After a couple stressful days in Paris, Willie finds a cheap hotel in which to house his family. After checking in at the Czech Embassy in Paris, Willie finds employment with the Czech Army in Exile and to start getting his family's necessary new papers.
While Willie is out getting his family's papers in order and enlisting in the army, Sophie wanders the streets of Paris with Pavel in tow. Eventually she discovers the Café Budapest run by an older couple of Hungarians. Sophie was born in Hungary so there is an immediate mutual feeling of camaraderie between Sophie and the husband and wife who own the Café.
Willie comes back to the hotel and tells Sophie he has the papers and a job with the army. Bad news though. The army is training in southern France. between Beziers and Agde. There is no provision for his family there so Sophie and Pavel will have to stay in Paris until family accommodations are available. That will take months.
Sophie becomes a regular visitor at Café Budapest. Eventually, the owners offer Sophie a part time job and allow Pavel to stay there during Sophie's hours. A visit to a farm outside Paris gives Sophie and Pavel a respite from the stress of pre-war Paris. But that does not end well for Pavel.
After several months Sophie is semi-forced to leave Paris and join Willie in the south. War breaks out, Dunkirk happens and France capitulates to Germany. The Czech Army will be evacuated to England through Gibraltar. Willie is on the last ship out and Sophie an Pavel are on one of the first ships. Willie arrives first in Gibraltar by several days. Sophie's trip is fraught with danger. They do not meet up in Gibraltar but do see each from ship to ship before they set off to England on separate ships. Their arrival in England and what happens there is the story that will continue in Book 3.
One of the things I took away from CAFE BUDAPEST is that we all need a Café Budapest in our lives. This is a well written story of how one family escaped the horrors of Nazi terror. If you can read this without a tear or two, you probably are emotionless. I urge readers of history, thrillers and family sagas to read this series.
GO! BUY! READ!
After an unbelievable trek by train, car and train again, Willie (dad), Sophie (mom) and Pavel (son) have arrived in Paris. They are virtually broke. Willie has hidden a secret supply of gold coins in the heel of one shoe (shades of Bond, James Bond). After a couple stressful days in Paris, Willie finds a cheap hotel in which to house his family. After checking in at the Czech Embassy in Paris, Willie finds employment with the Czech Army in Exile and to start getting his family's necessary new papers.
While Willie is out getting his family's papers in order and enlisting in the army, Sophie wanders the streets of Paris with Pavel in tow. Eventually she discovers the Café Budapest run by an older couple of Hungarians. Sophie was born in Hungary so there is an immediate mutual feeling of camaraderie between Sophie and the husband and wife who own the Café.
Willie comes back to the hotel and tells Sophie he has the papers and a job with the army. Bad news though. The army is training in southern France. between Beziers and Agde. There is no provision for his family there so Sophie and Pavel will have to stay in Paris until family accommodations are available. That will take months.
Sophie becomes a regular visitor at Café Budapest. Eventually, the owners offer Sophie a part time job and allow Pavel to stay there during Sophie's hours. A visit to a farm outside Paris gives Sophie and Pavel a respite from the stress of pre-war Paris. But that does not end well for Pavel.
After several months Sophie is semi-forced to leave Paris and join Willie in the south. War breaks out, Dunkirk happens and France capitulates to Germany. The Czech Army will be evacuated to England through Gibraltar. Willie is on the last ship out and Sophie an Pavel are on one of the first ships. Willie arrives first in Gibraltar by several days. Sophie's trip is fraught with danger. They do not meet up in Gibraltar but do see each from ship to ship before they set off to England on separate ships. Their arrival in England and what happens there is the story that will continue in Book 3.
One of the things I took away from CAFE BUDAPEST is that we all need a Café Budapest in our lives. This is a well written story of how one family escaped the horrors of Nazi terror. If you can read this without a tear or two, you probably are emotionless. I urge readers of history, thrillers and family sagas to read this series.
GO! BUY! READ!
April 21, 2020
Brings to life a lesser known story of immigrant survival in WWII France
Let me admit, as I begin, that historic fiction is not a genre I read often. It may be that a fan of the genre would have rated this story higher. However, back when we were both starting out, the author and I did some critique reading for each other on different books we were writing, before losing touch. This story features more suspense and deeper characterization than that book had, along with facial expressions and body movements that contribute to the reader's understanding of the emotions underlying the decisions his characters make. It's wonderful to re-encounter this author and see how his writing has matured. Bravo, sir!
Let me admit, as I begin, that historic fiction is not a genre I read often. It may be that a fan of the genre would have rated this story higher. However, back when we were both starting out, the author and I did some critique reading for each other on different books we were writing, before losing touch. This story features more suspense and deeper characterization than that book had, along with facial expressions and body movements that contribute to the reader's understanding of the emotions underlying the decisions his characters make. It's wonderful to re-encounter this author and see how his writing has matured. Bravo, sir!
June 26, 2018
This second book in the trilogy is just as amazing as the first. When I finished The Dragontail Buttonhole I grieved having to wait for the continuation of the story, so when Cafe Budapest was released, I dove right in so I could get caught up with what Willie, Sophie, and Pavel were up to. When I discovered the latest in their journey I was hooked all over again. Well-written well-researched, and a story one and all need to read. If you have yet to read the 1st in the trilogy, do so as soon as possible and then dive right into the continuing drama that surrounds the Kohut family in Cafe Budapest. So pleased to have discovered this author and his works.
October 1, 2023
I enjoyed this story. Likable main characters, interesting plot, but just a little too predictable for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2019
(This is same review as for The Dragontail Buttonhole)
I have read two of the three books in this series,The Dragontail Buttonhole and Café Budapest. The books are fiction but based on Curtis’ family who escaped from Prague in 1939 when he was a 3 year old boy. The horror of the Holocaust and the treatment of Jews during World War II are very upsetting to me and I was apprehensive about reading these books. I am so pleased that I did read them and am looking forward to reading Book 3. I think that Curtis has done an extraordinary job of showing, but not overwhelming, readers with the difficulties and the degradation that people experienced. I liked that he shows the slow decline in the family’s wealth and comfort and particularly the way he shows the changes and growth in Sophie, the main female character. I liked that he shows things that I had not thought about or ever seen noted before – the dangers in being ill-dressed or looking unkempt, the problems with language, the racist attitudes of the French and other cultures, the bureaucratic difficulties, caring for a child while trying to get to safety. I liked that there are not only bad people who hurt, terrorize and exploit the family, but also unexpected kind people – often when least expected, such as the soldier who knew that the family was Czech and not Hungarian but did not say anything.
I have read two of the three books in this series,The Dragontail Buttonhole and Café Budapest. The books are fiction but based on Curtis’ family who escaped from Prague in 1939 when he was a 3 year old boy. The horror of the Holocaust and the treatment of Jews during World War II are very upsetting to me and I was apprehensive about reading these books. I am so pleased that I did read them and am looking forward to reading Book 3. I think that Curtis has done an extraordinary job of showing, but not overwhelming, readers with the difficulties and the degradation that people experienced. I liked that he shows the slow decline in the family’s wealth and comfort and particularly the way he shows the changes and growth in Sophie, the main female character. I liked that he shows things that I had not thought about or ever seen noted before – the dangers in being ill-dressed or looking unkempt, the problems with language, the racist attitudes of the French and other cultures, the bureaucratic difficulties, caring for a child while trying to get to safety. I liked that there are not only bad people who hurt, terrorize and exploit the family, but also unexpected kind people – often when least expected, such as the soldier who knew that the family was Czech and not Hungarian but did not say anything.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews