The Birth of Emma K.
Published on 19. June 2022
Book
Hardback
200 pages
978-0-85742-986-5 (ISBN)
Description
An inventive collection of stories by one of the most prominent and acclaimed writers in Hungary today.
The Birth of Emma K., a collection of twelve short stories rich with magic, introduces English-language readers to one of the most vibrant and original voices in contemporary Hungarian literature. Zsolt Lang's new collection opens with God sitting on a bench looking over Budapest; later, a Hungarian man who has stumbled into a Romanian music theory class suddenly finds he is able to speak expertly about Hungarian composer Bela Bartok-and in perfect Romanian; and even later, against all odds, the embryo of Emma fights for her future life from within the womb. Drifting between melancholic and witty, in sentences that are winding, subtle, and colloquial, Lang's stories are deeply rooted in Transylvanian culture and history. Reminiscent of the best writings of Irish modernist masters such as Samuel Beckett and Flann O'Brien, The Birth of Emma K. presents an unforgettable collage of human nature.
The Birth of Emma K., a collection of twelve short stories rich with magic, introduces English-language readers to one of the most vibrant and original voices in contemporary Hungarian literature. Zsolt Lang's new collection opens with God sitting on a bench looking over Budapest; later, a Hungarian man who has stumbled into a Romanian music theory class suddenly finds he is able to speak expertly about Hungarian composer Bela Bartok-and in perfect Romanian; and even later, against all odds, the embryo of Emma fights for her future life from within the womb. Drifting between melancholic and witty, in sentences that are winding, subtle, and colloquial, Lang's stories are deeply rooted in Transylvanian culture and history. Reminiscent of the best writings of Irish modernist masters such as Samuel Beckett and Flann O'Brien, The Birth of Emma K. presents an unforgettable collage of human nature.
Reviews / Votes
"These are not stories for readers who want a fictionalized world to roll out smoothly before them. These are stories about characters who live in an enigmatic world, who transform as their world simultaneously changes." * Litro Magazine * "The Birth of Emma K. sucks you in, whirls you around, and then, much like Emma K. herself, spits you out into a world that is complex and harsh, yet compelling and seductive-bounded by forces beyond our control, but in which we must inevitably take part. Like life itself, this collection will at times leave you dazed and confused, but craving more." * Asymptote *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Greenford
United Kingdom
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
612 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-85742-986-5 (9780857429865)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Zsolt Lang is a Hungarian author, essayist, playwright, and editor from Transylvania, Romania. He has published five short-story collections and five novels and one work of criticism. His most recent novel Bolyai won the 2020 Libri Literary Prize, one of Hungary's most prestigious literary awards. Owen Good is a Northern Irish translator of Hungarian poetry and prose. Ottilie Mulzet was awarded the National Book Award for Translated Literature for her translation of Laszlo Krasznahorkai's Baron Wenckheim'sHomecoming in 2019.
Content
1. God on Gellert Hill
2. Daphne
3. Chestnut
4. Like a Shaggy Ink Cap Mushroom
5. At the Western Gate
6. Open Lesson
7. The Story of Money
8. Loneliness
9. Before Midnight
10. Madhouse
11. The Cloister of Sanctuary
12. The Birth of Emma K.
2. Daphne
3. Chestnut
4. Like a Shaggy Ink Cap Mushroom
5. At the Western Gate
6. Open Lesson
7. The Story of Money
8. Loneliness
9. Before Midnight
10. Madhouse
11. The Cloister of Sanctuary
12. The Birth of Emma K.