false<![CDATA[Embers]]>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178308355m/783505.jpg78350544In Sándor Márai's <I>Embers</I>, two old men, once the best of friends, meet after a 41-year break in their relationship. They dine together, taking the same places at the table that they had assumed on the last meal they shared, then sit beside each other in front of a dying fire, one of them nearly silent, the other one, his host, slowly and deliberately tracing the course of their dead friendship. This sensitive, long-considered elaboration of one man's lifelong grievance is as gripping as any adventure story and explains why Márai's forgotten 1942 masterpiece is being compared with the work of Thomas Mann. In some ways, Márai's work is more modern than Mann's. His brevity, simplicity, and succinct, unadorned lyricism may call to mind Latin American novelists like Gabriel García Márquez, or even Italo Calvino. It is the tone of magical realism, although Márai's work is only magical in the sense that he completely engages his reader, spinning a web of words as his wounded central character describes his betrayal and abandonment at the hands of his closest friend. Even the setting, an old castle, evokes dark fairy tales. <p> The story of the rediscovery of <I>Embers</I> is as fascinating as the novel itself. A celebrated Hungarian novelist of the 1930s, Márai survived the war but was persecuted by the Communists after they came to power. His books were suppressed, even destroyed, and he was forced to flee his country in 1948. He died in San Diego in 1989, one year before the neglected <I>Embers</I> was finally reprinted in his native land. This reprint was discovered by the Italian writer and publisher Roberto Calasso, and the subsequent editions have become international bestsellers. All of Márai's novels are now slated for American publication. <I>--Regina Marler</I>1250451book1942A gyertyák csonkig égnektotal:1134|5:293|4:389|3:316|2:102|1:34|11344207162720054falsefalseSun Nov 09 00:00:00 -0800 2008Fri Aug 22 11:18:38 -0700 2008Tue Nov 11 16:41:09 -0800 2008
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53falsefalseTue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003Sun Sep 02 10:50:44 -0700 2007Sun Sep 02 11:00:04 -0700 2007
Is it going to be that strong a book for others? I have no idea. But if...more...]]>
42falsefalseMon May 05 01:24:20 -0700 2008Fri May 02 08:20:38 -0700 2008Mon May 05 01:24:20 -0700 2008
The novel takes place over dinner one evening, as the General explains to Konrad, and to us the ...more...]]>
42falsetrueSun Sep 16 16:38:01 -0700 2007Sun May 04 12:36:46 -0700 2008 Revenge is a dish best served cold.
But is it? The General appears to believe so, we wonder what the purpose of the gun he so lovingly checks for ammunition and places carefully in a drawer whilst awaiting his old friend, th...more...]]>
52falsefalseThu Apr 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008Thu Apr 10 06:46:20 -0700 2008Fri Apr 11 06:09:03 -0700 2008 The novel, which is beautifully and sparsely written, tells the story of the lifelong and life-alterin...more...]]>
52falsefalseTue Aug 07 21:21:11 -0700 2007Wed Aug 08 22:07:14 -0700 2007
Yes, it is, it's one of my favourite books: well written (as usual for Marai), brilliant, deep, charming, rapting. A story of a friendship, old...more...]]>
51falsefalseSun Jan 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009Sun Jan 04 15:24:26 -0800 2009Sun Jan 04 15:34:37 -0800 2009 Story revolves around 2 old friends who meet after 41 years a part to discuss the events of their last meeting. Takes place in WWI er...more...]]>
51falsefalseThu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1998Thu Sep 18 08:39:30 -0700 2008Thu Sep 18 08:43:14 -0700 20083
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32falsefalseThu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007Thu Jul 17 05:39:47 -0700 2008Thu Jul 17 06:43:06 -0700 2008 Rather than duplicate the other reviews of this work I'm going to try and give a flavour of what I learned and experienced when reading it.
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51falsefalseFri Jul 04 12:30:12 -0700 2008Mon Jan 05 15:41:45 -0800 200941falsefalseSat Jan 26 10:11:08 -0800 2008Sat Jan 26 10:11:20 -0800 2008
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31falsefalseFri Mar 16 07:18:14 -0700 2007Fri Mar 16 07:18:46 -0700 2007
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13falsefalseThu May 29 13:07:12 -0700 2008Thu May 22 10:31:48 -0700 2008Thu May 29 13:07:12 -0700 2008 This book is full of philosophical nonsense that fails to make an impact.
The main character is an uninteresting aristocrat with a victim mentality. He spends the entire book finding new and clumsy ways to say, "Woe is me."
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51falsefalseWed Nov 19 20:24:44 -0800 2008Mon Dec 01 14:26:15 -0800 2008
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51falsefalseTue Nov 18 11:09:25 -0800 2008Tue Nov 18 11:10:50 -0800 2008
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40falsefalseThu Dec 11 00:00:00 -0800 2008Wed Dec 10 21:16:14 -0800 2008Wed Dec 10 21:22:16 -0800 2008 Taking place in the home of a rich old man, it details the friendship and schism that has led to ...more...]]>
30falsefalseWed Oct 21 13:56:31 -0700 2009Wed Oct 21 13:56:39 -0700 2009
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50falsefalseTue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009Sun Oct 11 05:34:20 -0700 2009Sun Oct 11 05:35:25 -0700 2009 This is a complex, gripping, masterfully told story. The setting of an old forgotten castle in the Carpathian Mountains sets the gothic ambience of the story and adds to the dark and mysterious narrative of love, passion, betrayal, friendship and infidelity that brilli...more...]]>
50falsefalseThu Jun 22 00:00:00 -0700 2006Sun Jul 19 16:02:55 -0700 2009Sun Jul 19 16:03:46 -0700 2009 Sandor Marai's novella, Embers, is a highly original and affecting discourse on the theme of friendship. The message is that the impulses of true friendship are finer and more powerful than any analysis.
An old Hungarian general has wasted 41 years fantasizing ab...more...]]>
50falsefalseTue May 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009Thu Apr 30 07:24:35 -0700 2009Wed May 06 08:28:36 -0700 2009
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