Synopses & Reviews
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the YearParallel Stories is a novel of extraordinary scope and depth, a masterwork that traces the fate of myriad Europeans—Hungarians, Jews, Germans, Gypsies—across the treacherous years of the mid-twentieth century. Three unusual men are at the heart of the novel: Hans von Wolkenstein, whose German mother has ties to the fascist-Nazi collaboration of the 1940s; Ágost Lippay Lehr, whose influential father has served Hungarys different political regimes for decades; and András Rott, who has his own dark record of mysterious activities abroad. Nádas weaves the social and political circumstances of their lives into a magnificent tapestry, aligning the uncanny parallels that link them across time and space.
Fifteen years in the writing, and four in the translating, Parallel Stories is Péter Nádass masterpiece—a daring and momentous novel from one of the great writers of our time.
Review
"Hugely ambitious, breathtakingly inventive."---
The New York Times "Parallel Stories makes the case [for grandeur] in sheer ambition, unspooling in a vivid succession of epochs and genres---a Cold War thriller, a 1950s Budapest romance---evoking the quests, spiritual and erotic, that link us across time."---Vogue
"One of his countrys strangest, most ambitious literary achievements."---New York magazine
"Were living in Péter Nádass time now. Youll never read anything else even remotely like Parallel Stories....Enjoy." ---Slate
Synopsis
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year
Parallel Stories is a novel of extraordinary scope and depth, a masterwork that traces the fate of myriad Europeans--Hungarians, Jews, Germans, Gypsies--across the treacherous years of the mid-twentieth century. Three unusual men are at the heart of the novel: Hans von Wolkenstein, whose German mother has ties to the fascist-Nazi collaboration of the 1940s; gost Lippay Lehr, whose influential father has served Hungary's different political regimes for decades; and Andr s Rott, who has his own dark record of mysterious activities abroad. N das weaves the social and political circumstances of their lives into a magnificent tapestry, aligning the uncanny parallels that link them across time and space.
Fifteen years in the writing, and four in the translating, Parallel Stories is P ter N das's masterpiece--a daring and momentous novel from one of the great writers of our time.
About the Author
Péter Nádas was born in Budapest in 1942. Among his works translated into English are the novels A Book of Memories (FSG, 1997), The End of a Family Story (FSG, 1998), and Love (FSG, 2000); a collection of stories and essays, Fire and Knowledge (FSG, 2007); and two pieces of short fiction, A Lovely Tale of Photography and Péter Nádas: Own Death. He lives with his wife in Gombosszeg, Hungary.