Reading the World discussion

Please feel free to post anything you know about the author or book before we start spoiling in July.

Born April 11, 1900
Kassa, Austria-Hungary (now Košice, Slovakia)

Died February 21, 1989 (aged 88)
San Diego, United States

Marai authored 46 books. His 1942 book Embers (Hungarian title: A gyertyák csonkig égnek, meaning "The Candles Burn Down to the Stump") expresses a nostalgia for the bygone multi-ethnic, multicultural society of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, reminiscent of the works of Joseph Roth. In 2006 an adaptation of this novel for the stage, written by Christopher Hampton, was performed in London.

He also disliked the communist regime that seized power after World War II, and left – or was driven away – in 1948. After living for some time in Italy, Márai settled in the city of San Diego, in the United States. Márai joined with Radio Free Europe between 1951-1968. Márai was extremely disappointed in the Western powers for not helping the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

He continued to write in his native language, but was not published in English until the mid-1990s. Like other memoirs by Hungarian writers and statesmen, it was first published in the West, because it could not be published in the Hungary of the post-1956 Kádár era. The English version of the memoir was published posthumously in 1996. After his wife died in 1986, Márai retreated more and more into isolation. In 1987, he lived with advanced cancer and his depression worsened when he lost his adopted son, John.

He ended his life with a gunshot to his head in San Diego in 1989. He left behind three granddaughters; Lisa, Sarah and Jennifer Márai.

I will be reading this next week.

Rosemarie wrote: "I will be reading this next week."

Me too. I picked it up from the library today!

I read it already. Looking forward to your comments.

Here is my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Wow. 5 stars. That makes me even more excited to read it.

Kelly wrote: "Wow. 5 stars. That makes me even more excited to read it."
The book is sometimes hard to read, but I was pretty impressed with the premise.

I read this back in 2016. I gave it 4 stars. Here is my review.

Ember; a small piece of burning or glowing coal or wood in a dying fire.

This book is aptly named as it is about a life long friendship that had a 41 year gap. The story starts in present day, the General, Henrik is now in his seventies. He is awaiting his friend, Konrad, that he has not seen for 41 years. The story then looks back to how it all started then catches up to present day. I thought this a fascinating story. I was engaged throughout and wanted to know what was going to happen next. I liked Nini the nurse who is a strong and practical woman. The General was an interesting character and I felt like I was in his head the entire book.

“All that is left in the embers is ash, black ash, with the sheen of a mourning veil of watered silk.”

I found this book to be a perfect little gem. It certainly isn't plot driven or even character development driven. However, we are allowed a deep glimpse into the intellectual soul searching of one man; The General. We come to know him and recognize in him a general condition of humanity at a time when the world was transitioning from one in which for the upper classes honor and dignity was worth everything, until after the great war, in which survival became the only way to judge a man.
Like Diane, I would have liked to know more about Nini and even the loved but ultimately not loved enough Krisztina and to have Konrad's side of the story in his own words. However, that is not what the book offers us. Rather what the book offered was one man's insights into friendship - that it is not a bargain in which loyalty is negotiated but an assumption of loyalty even in the face of betrayal. It is his insights into the nature of revenge, a concept of the dual nature of people; those like himself who conform to expectations and those who are driven by different passions. Although on one level our General is an extremely self absorbed individual, he also sees that he was as much at fault as anyone as he considers the nature of destiny.

Your comments sum up my thoughts about this book, Gail.
The author was good at creating atmosphere in a subtle way, and uses details skillfully.
When the General goes to Konrad's apartment and sees the double French bed and the orchids from his greenhouse, my first thought was that there was something going on between his friend and his wife. And then Krisztina walks in and looks surprised to see him.
Very impressive writing.