Zsuzsanna AranyThe Adventures of Desiré

The author has spent decades studying the life and literary work of Dezső Kosztolányi. This in-depth research and joyful work, along with complete bibliographies and a major monograph on the great poet and writer of West/Nyugat journal has resulted in this semi-fictional, semi-factual work with the disturbing subtitle: The Life of Nicolas Stavgorin. The book is worth reading for the explanatory impulse alone.

But let's look at what Zsuzsanna Arany says in the afterword to her book:

"... After reading the many contemporary accounts, it occurred to me what if I threw out all the data and just freely "story-tell" myself. I looked for the voice of the narrator, but I couldn't find it. Then Nicolas reappeared and I paired him with "Desiree".

Despite all my creative freedom I have striven for historical and biographical authenticity in the writing of each chapter. Naturally, I mixed this with fictional elements. I have not (foot)annotated my quotations, which I have occasionally transposed, nor have I indicated what in my book actually happened and what was merely a figment of my imagination. So it is up to my reader to interpret my novel as a fictional world in its own right or to seek out its references. ... "

Castle Street Workshop Books 43 - Veszprém

The book is sponsored by the National Cultural Fund

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Zsuzsanna Arany The Adventures of Desiré