An early novel from the great rediscovered Hungarian writer Sándor Márai, The Rebels is a haunting story of a group of alienated b...
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Jan 30, 2012
Briynne
rated it: 
I should give this four stars. The writing deserves at least four stars just for style alone (which I think is saying something considering it's a translation), but I still find myself holding back a little. This book disturbed and upset me, and was a somewhat uncomfortable read. That said, it was an excellently-written uncomfortable read.
The story follows a group of 17-year-old boys living in Hungary during the middle of the First World War. They are just finishing school and ar More...
The story follows a group of 17-year-old boys living in Hungary during the middle of the First World War. They are just finishing school and ar More...
Sep 08, 2011
Colleen
rated it: 
I read "Embers" and enjoyed it but this one didn't capture my interest. I kept putting it aside with the result that by the time I came to the end I was baffled by the denoument but not interested enough to go back and figure out exactly who was who and what their relationships were exactly.
Still, it does give a portrait of a provincial Hungarian town near the end of WW I, with restless students whose fathers were away trying to figure out how to spend their time in the inter More...
Still, it does give a portrait of a provincial Hungarian town near the end of WW I, with restless students whose fathers were away trying to figure out how to spend their time in the inter More...
Nov 09, 2009
Jan
rated it: 
It's not a fun read, but it's very fine writing. A few parts, such as the section where the boys follow the actor through the town to the theater at midnight, reach the exultant, magical prose of Embers. Most of the time, however, I was thinking about how alien were the emotions and concerns of the people in the book. Although it's set almost a century ago, the characters seem to be struggling out of an even earlier period, the hegemony of the Austriohungarian Empire. Also, because all the chara
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May 30, 2009
Ken
rated it: 
I was lucky enough to read Sándor Márai’s The Rebels while traveling through Budapest, Bratislava, and Prague. This was part of my standing rule of reading a novel from the country you are visiting while traveling. In paid off well with Stevenson in the UK and Strindberg in Sweden. It did not serve me well with Bowles in Morocco. In the case of Márai it was a perfect fit. Having had my feet on the ground, mangling the Hungarian language in my worst attempts at communicate with the locals, I exp
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Jul 29, 2010
Peter
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Here, Marai tackled what is now a classic early 20th century theme: a group of young men in the months just before they are enlisted to serve in World War I. Coming of age while coming to terms with madness, their shape their lives into a dada-like performance in which meaninglessness is the only meaning they can find. As good a book as any you will read in the genre, with Marai's touch of the Hungarian surreal.
Dec 10, 2009
Michael
rated it:
Another superb book from Marai. This is a coming of age story set at the end of summer 1918 in a small town in the last days of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Four teenagers face the realities and humiliations of the end of their school days and the begining of adulthood all with the shadow of the call to the trenches only weeks away.
A very evocotive book.
Four teenagers face the realities and humiliations of the end of their school days and the begining of adulthood all with the shadow of the call to the trenches only weeks away.
A very evocotive book.
Dec 26, 2007
Mike
rated it:
this is silly, but i really just picked up this book from the library because i liked the cover. i'd never heard of the author, a leading novelist in Hungary in the 1930s. it's an excellent book. it's the story of a group of graduating teens who form a gang of sorts. in an effort to distance themselves from the adult world they hate and don't understand they go about 'rebelling' against that adult world, like stealing random things from their parents. they feel like they live in a world whe
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Jan 09, 2011
Heather
rated it:
A symphonic piece, this novel starts off at a slow tempo, imperceptibly building, until the final pages reach a dizzying crescendo of unexpected proportions. Marai is brilliant, and I bow at his altar.
Apr 06, 2011
Margarida
rated it:
I was torn between giving it 3 or 4 stars. I decided for 3, despite the marvellous writing. It was good and clearly a Sándor Márai book, but after reading the brilliant Embers I couldn't give it more than that. It was a good reading, allthough kinda uncomfortable, morbid and depressive. It's set in Hungary during the WWI and it's sad and beautiful, but there is something I don't quite know what it is that's missing.
This book isn't just about teenage boys being rebel, it goes deeper t More...
This book isn't just about teenage boys being rebel, it goes deeper t More...
Jul 29, 2011
I dislike Marai's style. I already quite disliked 'Gloed' (don't know the original title, read the Dutch translation) and I didn't even finish reading this one.
Nov 14, 2009
Gizella
rated it: 
I looked forward to reading Marai in English as he was a dear friend's favorite writer. I couldn't really get into this book. I tried, though ...
Jan 28, 2008
Kelly
rated it:
I struggled with this book, I admit. It's very foreign to me -- written in a style I'm not used to (dreamy and description-heavy, with little dialog), in a part of the world I don't know much about (Hungary), in a time period I'm not particularly familiar with (WWI). But mostly it's because it's a book about the relationships between boys and their fathers, boys and adult men, and boys with each other. All that adds up to characters I neither understand nor relate to. I sympathize with them -- t
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Jan 12, 2011
tengo que volver a ir a Budapest e ir leyendo el libro, mientras tanto lo voy a empezar a leer este año
Apr 20, 2010
Rick
rated it:
Another (see, Embers) exquisite book by Sandor Marai, a brilliant writer.
Jun 05, 2011
Jorge
rated it:
When I first picked this book I had great expectations; I liked the scene of war seen through the eyes of young aspiring gentlemen coming from different backgrounds. I found it hard to really get into the story and to know the characters; I kept drifting away from it, but I wanted to be fair and read it through. The story develops very slowly, but I could say that, while I struggled through the first half, I really enjoyed the second. It's a well written simple story about friendship and making
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Apr 24, 2011
Bruce
rated it:
The Rebels is superb writing, yet a disturbing story that is perhaps best admired from a distance. Unsettling but worthwhile.
May 30, 2007
dead hungarian author rediscovered and starting to be translated. he killed himself on the eve of hungary's independence from the soviets, the book promises to be everything i love about eastern european literature - dark, about war, and elegantly written. you have to look hard for the strains of hope, but they are there, and that makes them all the more valuable (and honest).
Feb 09, 2011
James
rated it:
While this is not the equal of Embers (few novels are) it is a good read. The story held my attention with its vivid characters and Marai's singular style. The evocation of a bygone time and place created a sense of melancholy that I found fascinating. I plan to explore other works by Marai.
Nov 09, 2009
Huma
rated it:
This book presented a fascinating view of disillusioned young men who have nothing to look forward to except probable suffering in the war. It was a glimpse into the meaning of friendships, trust, why people formed relationships and what they needed to get out of them.
Feb 27, 2011
Julia
rated it:
É terrorismo poético até a página 150. Adoro a ideia do chinês, e da pena dada às pessoas de quem não gostavam: trabalhos forçados em um banco ou escritório de advocacia.
Depois surge um mistério que parece forçado. O final não me agrada.
Depois surge um mistério que parece forçado. O final não me agrada.
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Dec 17, 2009
Despite hitting a roadblock in Casanova in Bolzano, I was really enjoying Marai's writing style. So I'm willing to give him another chance!
Nov 09, 2009
no se donde está mi cerebro, pero no en este libro, lo tendré que intentar después.....
Dec 17, 2009
sandor didn't live up to Embers with this one, methinks. i'm putting it down for now.
Mar 25, 2010
Samuel
rated it:
Considering Embers is one of my favorite reads, I didn't expect this work satisfy me as greatly. And I was quite right not to expect it to. While beautifully presented in it's own right, it maintains many of the main motifs and themes as Embers, though not as gracefully expounded. Nonetheless, it was a pleasure.
Jan 29, 2012
Jascha
rated it:
Somewhat biographical. The dreams of youth, the fear of becoming an adult.
Feb 11, 2012
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