Sunflower

August 13, 2007
A reverie on love and death, countryside and city, this gothic fairy tale from Hungarian Krudy (1878-1933) was originally published in Hungary in early 1918. Spooked by a midnight intruder, 22-year-old Eveline leaves her home in Budapest and returns to her Hun-garian riverfront estate. There, Eveline is haunted by the memory of her ex-fiance, the dissolute Kalman Ossuary, and is courted by a patient local bachelor, Andor almos-Dreamer. The meandering plot takes a turn upon the arrival of Eveline's best friend and opposite, Malvina Maszkeradi. Malvina is "the wealthiest heiress in Budapest: somber, frosty, intrepid, and miserable," and she proceeds to stir things up considerably. The book's only acknowledgement of WWI is, perhaps, through its celebration of what is being lost: "old Hungary, silent with the sleep of the blessed, the humble, the poor." Given to expansive lyric digressions, Krudy is now recognized as a great prose stylist, but an English equivalent proves elusive here. The story, however, rewards patience: the last chapter, where the year has circled back to autumn and an opportunity opens for Eveline, is surprising and moving.

August 1, 2007
Krúdy (18781933), a well-known early 20th-century Hungarian author, produced a prolific body of 60 novels and 3000 short stories before dying in relative obscurity. In this novel, appearing in English for the first time, Eveline leaves the city for her country estate in order to forget her love for Kálmán. Eveline's story becomes inextricably intertwined with the lives of the locals: she is wooed by the legendary Álmos-Dreamer, provides lodging and company for the odd Miss Maszkerádi, and tries to keep peace with Gypsy-loving neighbor Pistoli. In this community, everyone knows everything about one another, making each interaction full of complications, village gossip, and intrigue. Krúdy eulogizes a way of life already disappearing as the work was being written and presents a glimpse of rural Hungary that is at once comic, nostalgic, romantic, and erotic. The introduction by John Lukacs provides insight into Krúdy's life and works. Recommended for academic collections or large public libraries.Heather Wright, ASRC Management Srvcs., Cincinnati

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