Relations

by Zsigmond Móricz

Zsigmond Móricz (1879-1942), one of the leading Hungarian writers of the 20th century, was born into a poor peasant family. He became famous overnight as a writer of distinctive short stories when his autobiographical story 'Seven Pennies' appeared in the periodical Nyugat in 1908. Hailed by the critics as his most important novel, relations (1932) paints a striking portrait of the provincial society that he knew so well. It is a tale of the nepotism and corruption that ensnare István Kopjáss; High office is thrust upon him, but he finds himself dragged into a network of shady deals and is driven, his idealism shattered, to attempt sucide. Like Móricz's other work, Relations is marked by direct language, incisive characterisation, and its author's passionate realism and patriorism.

Genres: Hungarian Literature, Classics, Fiction, Literature, Hungary, School

262 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1932

Reviews

[Stephen Varcoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I didn't have to give this book such a good review. Wonderfully written account of turn of the century corruption, nepotism and everything else that is wrong with Hungarian society.
A book that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that it isn't the Jews, communists, fascists, turks, austrians, russians, fidesz, mszp or anyone else that should be blamed for Hungary's problems. The problem is the Hungarians themselves - all of them!

[Teo Nagy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Az egyik kedvenc idézetem a könyvből, amely oly jól rátapint a magyar identitásra és gondolkodásmódra:

“…mikor kivágta a kis magyar magát az ellenség hadai közül s hetykén és nagyranőtt önérzettel jött meg újra a pátriába, hogy: no, öcsém.”

Az író, amúgy egy nagyon realista és anti-idealista képet nyújtott a harmincas évek Magyarországáról.

A könyv olvasása közben többször hangosan fel kellett nevetnem, amikor Móricz Zs. a sajátos olykor tragikomikus humorával taglalta a korszak cinikus képmutató társadalmi és politikai berendezését, amelynek oly sok jellemzőjét ma is 100 évvel később fel lehet ismerni a 21.századi Közép-Európában.

A regény végén való fordulat váratlan volt és meglepett. Egy nagyon jó csattanó volt.

Számomra ez a könyv biztos megérdemli az öt csillagot.

[Justpassingby]

The captivating story of an innocent low-level town councillor being slowly dragged into what appears to be a long-lived and well-established network of corruption. This novel loses none of its universal relevance after two political revolutions or, in my case, across three national boundaries.

[Alexander Palmer Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book describing how a man becomes corrupt after being elected into a position of power.

[Laura Janco · Rating 4 out of 5]

ngl was expecting a different ending

[Tamás Szajkó · Rating 4 out of 5]

Régi tervem volt egy-két nem feltétlenül csontszáraz, korábban kimaradt kötelezőt pótolni, és ennél jobb választásom nem is igazán lehetett volna. Móricz 1932-es regénye stílusában is egész korszerű, tartalma pedig nem is lehet aktuálisabb, a mindent átható haveri-családi korrupció továbbra is Magyarország általános élménye.

Kifejezetten aranyos a főszereplő Kopjáss karaktere is, aki véletlenül kerül hatalomba, de ha már ott van, rövid látszatidealizmus fenntartása után hamarosan belefekszik a rendszerbe - nem mintha amúgy lenne bármi más választása. A -1 csillag talán a történet sehová nem vezetése miatt jár, az alapötlet szinte az első oldaltól egy helyben topog, ami simán lehet írói elgondolás is, de az izgalomfaktorra nem nagyon tesz rá.

[Naim Frewat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hungary of the early 1930s seem to resemble a lot my country, Lebanon, in the early 2020s, maybe even from 1990s to-date.
The opening pages set the tone of the book; they even reveal pretty much the unfolding of the novel. Pista, a Cultural Adviser in the city of Zsarátnok, is elected to the higher post of Town Clerk. The first pages paint him as a dreamer, as someone taken by his own thoughts and reflections, with ideas and ambitions and with a level-headed understanding of the small political starting to form around him. His wife is the pragmatic; despite being confined to house duties, she understands real life, politics, influence and she understands what drives people. All throughout, she will continue to offer sound advice to her husband. She knows her husband is already swimming in an ocean of sharks, she is doubtful about his ability to take on that world and she intervenes in the small arena where she can intervene: Pista's family, his Relations. She knows they will bring him down.
Not much plot development happens in the story; all throughout, Pista is trying to understand the shady businesses the city might be involved in, who holds power and how and why and what can be done for the peasants after the years following the crash of 1929.
Despite Pista seeming politically clean, I didn't warm up to him. Pista, after reflecting for long on an idea, proposes it, only to see it quickly shot down; he doesn't advance further, he retreats again into daydreaming or intellectual acrobatics and frequently, ends his proposal or his argument with laughter. He frequently laughs throughout the book, it's irritating.
Pista seems to have been modeled, in a large part, on Móricz himself. Móricz was also concerned with the plight of the farmers, with the backwardness that was Hungary of the 1920s and 1930s, was a believer in reforms, though, much like Pista, wasn't able to advance reforms.
I wonder if this book is Móricz's synthesis about how reforms can be made in the real world; I wonder if he's telling the reader, yes morals and ethics and knowledge of the laws are the pillars of democracy, but democracy is run by people and if we don't calculate our moves, if we don't chose the right alliances, understand how power is wrought, how to rein our Relations (which seems to have been the Hungarian plague at one time), who stands to gain and lose and by how much, reforms have no chance to advance, propelled by the unique torque of ethics and values.
In my opinion, this is the strong claim of the book, coming from the wisdom of the Mayor, who managed to stay in his post for 38 years because, although he respected and valued his Relations, he never once let them mix with his running of the city.
Lebanese politicians take note.

[Vanjr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book about Hungarian life and culture in the early 20th century. Like all great literature it deals with common human conditions-Nouveau riche (or in this case nouveau powerful), corruption and "relations"- no not that kind of relations-but that of family. Blood relations. In this story a middle class man gets surprisingly elected to a position of power in a moderate sized city. The plot involves the large number of relatives that suddenly show up. Kind of like if you won the lottery. His wife, the only voice of reason and sanity tries to offer a voice of sanity and reason.

This author was apparently quite prolific and after reading this I definitely would love to read other works that have been translated into English.

[Csiki911 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anno a filmet lattam csak, azt is a hires ZS.V. miatt, de most ugy ereztem ideje potolni. Es nem bantam meg. Egyreszt szepen ravilagit, hogy hiaba probal fohosunk becsuletesen mukodni, ha korulotte mindenki panamazik... 😅 Nameg, hogy eddig is tudtam, de ezek utan fix, hogy ha egyszer nyerek a lotton, akkor arrol nem nagyon fog senki se tudni... Foleg nem a ROKONOK... 😎

[László Horváth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although i have to say,i didn't found this book all that interesting,most of the characters lacked depth,and it was incredibly predictable,the way this book tours you to the disgusting underworld of the average higher society is still just as shocking,and still just as relevant,if not more,than 100 years ago.Also i have to give it credit,the very last scene was REALLY good,love it to bit.

[Réka]

Dnf
For school tho

[Kornélia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Második olvasásra is nagyon tetszett. Még mindig (vagy talán újra) aktuális a téma…

[Petra · Rating 4 out of 5]

ma is nagyon relevans

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Educational and insightful into the lives of both the elite and peasantry in Hungary between the 2 world wars. Moricz does a good job to highlight the struggles in Hungary as it moves from the aristocracy led Austro-Hungarian to a government controlled and favors based run country. But that said, it was a more difficult read. More textbook than pleasure here. The Pig Farm as the focal point just did not keep me engaged. Lina was the only sensible character in the entire novel. I have enjoyed several other Hungarian authors from a similar era but this one fell short. Maybe I give Moricz another try.

[Sarabjit Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short but a gripping read. The story is set in early 20th century Hungary, but remains as relatable today (for Hungarians and non-Hungarians alike) as it may have been relevant back then. For it is a very human story at its core, made remarkable by the author's ability to effortlessly put down one layer of complexity over another, until the story becomes an intricate tale of how a simple lowly government servant gets caught up in the corrupt and unscrupulous ways of those in high office.

[eszti olvas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Móricz Zsigmonddal nagyon ambivalens a viszonyom; most Modern magyar irodalom 1. vizsgára újra kellett olvasnom a Rokonokat. Mindenképpen jobban tetszett második olvasásra, mint 3-4 évvel ezelőtt. Sajnos ennek nagy részben az az oka, hogy napról napra aktuálisabbá válik…

[Kis József · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ma újra aktuális.