Play Book Tag discussion

They Were Found Wanting: The Transylvanian Trilogy, Volume II by Miklós Bánffy - 4.5* - My Review

This is the second volume of Miklós Bánffy's Transylvania Trilogy. It continues the story of protagonist Count Bálint Abády, his love interest Adrienne Miloth (who is married to a mentally unstable man), and Bálint’s cousin László Gyeroffy whose life is spiraling downward due to gambling debts and alcoholism. It is set during the last years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the early 1900s, covering the political situation of the region in the lead-up to the Great War. As a member of Parliament, Bálint is attempting to help the rural Transylvanians by establishing cooperatives to avoid the usurious rates charged by corrupt moneylenders. Bálint regularly travels between Transylvania and Budapest, where Parliament members engage in political feuds, while disregarding the increasing nationalistic tensions. The storyline moves between the characters’ personal lives in Transylvania and Budapest's political theater.

Published in 1937, Bánffy lived through the times he is describing. He paints a vivid picture of the dwindling days of the old aristocratic ways of life, and colorfully describes their former lifestyle, including balls, hunts, country retreats, marketplaces, duels, and festivals. This second book spans roughly 1906 to 1908. It weaves in references to what is going on in the broader political panorama (such as in England, Russia, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Turkey, Croatia-Slavonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The aristocracy is obsessed with constitutional disputes and social standing, while the minorities are demanding voting rights.

The novel's central focus is an almost willful blindness to a coming disaster. This is a novel for those who appreciate well-written and realistic historical novels. I gained a much better understanding of the political environment of the time and region, and I appreciate Bánffy’s insights. There is a great deal of political discussion, so it requires an interest in that part of the story. The personal sections are dramatic, and it is easy to picture the characters. The book works as a love story and an analysis of the failures of the ruling class during a time when economic factors are making their traditional lifestyle unsustainable. I read the English translation by Kathy Bánffy-Jelen and Patrick Thursfield. This is a special series, and I am eagerly looking forward to the final book in the trilogy.

4.5