UPCOMING SHOWS:

UPCOMING SHOWS:

Sat. April 30
KONONO N°1 FEAT. BATUDA
(Le Grand Mix, Tourcoing)

Sun. May 1
HELL
(The Pit's, Kortrijk)

Thu. May 5
Awesome Tapes From Africa dj set
(Treehou5e Open Air, Ghent)

Fri. May 6
Invisible Hands / Neil Michael Hagerty & The Howling Hex / DSR Lines
(Vooruit, Ghent)

Sat. May 7
CRITES
(De Ruimte, Ghent)

Tue. May 10
SEX CRIME + THE ARROGANTS
(De Pit's, Kortrijk)

Thu. May 12
QUANTIC
(DOK, Ghent)

Fri. May 13
ARCHIE & THE BUNKERS
(Het Bos, Antwerp)

Sun. May 15
THRONEFEST (Taake, Inquisition, Mgla, Batushka, Inferno, Dysangellium, Wiegedood & The Commitee)
(Kubox, Kuurne)

Thu. May 26
PAUL COLLINS BEAT
(Den Trap, Kortrijk)

Fri. May 27
BEAK>
(Trix, Antwerp)

Wed. June 1
TY SEGALL & THE MUGGERS
(Botanique, Brussels)

Wed. June 8
UNCANNY VALLEY: THE LOS ANGELES FREE MUSIC SOCIETY AND THEIR LEGACY (WOLF EYES, etc.)
(Vooruit, Ghent)

Wed. June 22
FÖLLAKZOID
(Het Bos, Antwerp)






Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Journey by Moonlight - ANTAL SZERB



After having read almost every translated novel by Hungarian writer Sándor Márai (1900-1989), I wanted to check out some other Hungarian novelists from the last century so I bought a recently translated novel written in 1937 by Antal Szerb called "Journey by Moonlight". It is an unforgettable book and one of the best I have read in ages!

Pursued by nostalgia for his bohemian youth, Mihály seeks escape in marriage to Erzsi, not realizing that she has chosen him as a means to her own rebellion. On their honeymoon in Italy, Mihály "loses" his bride at a provincial station and embarks on a chaotic and bizarre journey that leads him finally to Rome. There all the death-haunted and erotic elements of his past converge, and he, like Erzsi, has finally to choose.

The novel had a very fascinating, strange effect on me. I was intrigued by Mihály's wandering mind and spell bounded by Szerb's magnificent prose and brilliant storytelling. Wikipedia tells me that Szerb was deported to a concentration camp during World War II and beaten to death there in January 1945, he was 43. "Journey by Moonlight" was his second and best-known work.

I am eager now to read more Hungarian novels from the last century and my next choice is Kornél Esti by Dezso Kosztolanyi (1885-1936) who Péter Esterházy calls the big master of Márai and the most elegant of all Hungarian writers.