内容简介
AnNYRBClassicsOriginalThetroublebeginsinVenice,thefirststoponErzsiandMihaly'shoneymoontourofItaly.HereErzsidiscoversthathernewhusbandpreferswanderingbackalleysonhisowntohercompany.ThetroublepicksupinRavenna,whereahostilemanzoomsuponamotorcycleasthecouplearesittingatanoutdoorcafe.It'sJanos,someoneMihalyhasn'tseenforyears,andhewantsMihalytocomewithhiminsearchofErvin,theirchildhoodfriend.ThetroublecomestoaheadwhenMihalymissesthetrainheandErzsiareduetotaketoRome.OffhegoesacrossItaly,wanderingfromcitytocity,hauntedandaccostedbyastrangearrayoffiguresfromthetroubledyouththathethoughthehadleftbehind:Therearethecharismaticsiblings,evaandTamas,whosebizarreamateurtheatricalslinkedsexanddeathforeverinhismind;Ervin,aJewturnedCatholicmonkwhowashisrivalforeva'slove;andagain,thatruffianonthemotorcycle.AntalSzerb'sdreamlikeadventure,likeBulgakov's"TheMasterandMargarita,"isanintoxicating,utterlyindividualmixofmagic,madness,eros,andmenace.InthewordsofthecriticNicholasLezard,"Noonewhohasreadithasfailedtoloveit."
作者简介
AntalSzerb(1901–1945)wasborninBudapestintoamiddle-classfamilythathadconvertedfromJudaismtoCatholicism.HestudiedGermanandEnglishliteratureattheUniversityofBudapest,receivingaPhDin1924.Throughoutthesecondhalfofthe1920shelivedinFrance,Italy,andEngland,whereheworkedonhisfirstbook,AnOutlineofEnglishLiterature(1929).In1933hewaselectedthepresidentoftheHungarianLiteraryAcademyandthenextyearpublishedhisHistoryofHungarianLiterature,calledbyJohnLukacs,“notonlyaclassicbutasensitiveandprofounddescriptionof...theMagyarmind.”Itwasfollowedin1941byathree-volumeHistoryofWorldLiterature.Inadditiontohiscriticalwritings,Szerbproducedmanyworksoftranslation,andpublishednewspaperarticles,essays,reviews,shortstories,andnovels,ofwhichThePendragonLegend(1934),LoveinaBottle(1935),TheThirdTower(writtenin1936),JourneybyMoonlight(1937),OliverVII(1937),andTheQueen’sNecklace(1943)havebeentranslatedintoEnglish.HavinglosthisuniversityteachingpositionasaresultofHungary’santi-Semiticlaws,Szerbwassenttoalaborcamp,whereitisbelievedhewasbeatentodeath.Hewassurvivedbyhiswife,KláraBálint,whodiedin1992.LenRixisapoet,critic,andformerliteratureprofessorwhohastranslatedfiveofAntalSzerb’sbooksintoEnglish,includingthenovelsThePendragonLegendandTheQueen’sNecklace,andmostrecently,thetravelmemoirTheThirdTower.In2006hewasawardedtheOxford-WeidenfeldTranslationPrizeforhisworkonMagdaSzabo’sTheDoor(forthcomingfromNYRBClassics).JulieOrringeristheauthorofTheInvisibleBridge,anovel,andHowtoBreatheUnderwater,acollectionofstories.CurrentlyatworkonanovelaboutVarianFry,Orringerisa2014–15GuggenheimFellowandarecentRadcliffeFellow.Herworkhasbeentranslatedintofifteenlanguagesandwidelyanthologized,andherfirstnovelisbeingadaptedforfilmbythedirectorLajosKoltai.Inquiryintoherfamilyhistoryrevealedthathergrandfather,AndrewTibor,aHungarianforced-laborconscript,servedatthesamecampwhereSzerbdiedin1945.,,,,
