KaddishforanUnbornChild

ThefirstwordinthismesmerizingnovelbythewinneroftheNobelPrizeforLiteratureis"No."Itishowthenovel'snarrator，amiddle-agedHungarian-Jewishwriter，answersanacquaintancewhoaskshimifhehasachild.Itistheanswerhegavehiswife(nowex-wife)yearsearlierwhenshetoldhimthatshewantedone.Theloss，longingandregretthathaunttheyearsbetweenthosetwo"no"sgiverisetooneofthemosteloquentmeditationseverwrittenontheHolocaust.AsKertesz'snarratoraddressesthechildhecouldn'tbeartobringintotheworldheushersreadersintothelabyrinthofhisconsciousness，dramatizingtheparadoxesattendantonsurvivingthecatastropheofAuschwitz.KaddishfortheUnbornChildisaworkofstaggeringpower，litbyflashesofperversewitandfueledbytheenergyofitswhollyoriginalvoice.TranslatedbyTimWilkinson