Stonedial

Agenda #2

by George Konrád

The year 1993. Janos Dragomán, a wandering scholar, a world-famous and world-weary Hungarian writer, returns to his native town to visit three old friends. They are Aba Kuno, the almost saintly, highly respected rector of the university; Antal Tombor, the charismatic popular showman-mayor; and Kobra, a stable family man who is also a ubiquitous media pundit dispensing "common sense." The three have wives, all eager to be seduced by Dragomán, whose reputation precedes him. Through a series of flashbacks, covering his intellectually and sexually precocious schooldays, his memories of the life of Jews in 1944, and the 1956 Revolution (brilliantly rendered), we learn that Dragomán inadvertently caused the massacre of six young colleagues...

Genres: Fiction, Roman, Novels, Hungarian Literature

296 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

aka György Konrád

George Konrád was a Hungarian novelist and essayist. Konrád was born in Berettyóújfalu, near Debrecen into an affluent Jewish family. He graduated in 1951 from the Madách Secondary School in Budapest, entered the Lenin Institute and eventually studied literature, sociology and psychology at Eötvös Loránd University. In 1956 he participated in the Hungarian Uprising against the Soviet occupation.

Reviews

[Pamela]

This book appears to be obscure, as there are only three other reviews and none in English. My English edition was published in 2000, which is before goodreads really became around, so perhaps that is why so few entries? I have discovered through goodreads this book is listed as a second in a series, although there is no indication of that in my book.

The book was a frustrating read, for at least the first half. I almost put it aside and DNF it multiple times but kept going since it’s not overly long and have owned the book for many years. In the end it was worth it to have kept going.

The book is a translation from a Hungarian, which might explain some of the awkwardness of the writing of the POV shifts, but I doubt it. There were history, future and present all going on at the same time, and with the POV shifts so it was fairly confusing. The main character, János Dragomán would be referred to in the third person, but sometimes in first person as the narrator. This shift would happen suddenly, and it took a while to figure out this was the same person being spoken about.

János Dragomán, an itinerant philosopher, professor and writer returns to Kandor to be awarded an honorary degree, and see his old friends. He is also a womanizer, which plays in the plot particularly in the later portion. The narration kept returning to 1956, when there was an attempt in Hungry to revolt against the Russian occupation. Dragomán was a student then and was active in this revolt.

In this present time Dragomán just discovers he has a daughter and grandson, which has him contemplating staying in Kandor. There is more, but I’d rather not reveal the entire plot.

A bit of a strange book, but glad I stuck with it. Most of the action was in the last quarter of the book, which was straightforward for the most part, unlike the prior portion of the book. I suppose this answers why there are so few reviews, I expect many would have given up as I nearly did.

Book rating: 3.5 stars

[Kaj Roihio]

En voi väittää pitäneeni. Unkarilainen György Konrad käy läpi sinänsä kiinnostavia maansa kipupisteitä, kuten toisen maailmansodan tai kylmän sodan pahimmat tapahtumat, mutta lopputulos on niin turhauttava ja pahemman kerran uuvuttava, että kirjan loppuun lukemista pitäisi melkeinpä juhlistaa pienimuotoisesti.
"Romaani, joka kuvaa ihmismielen sisäistä maisemaa metaforisen kaupungin kautta" on kuin lukisi sellaisen ihmisen kuulustelupöytäkirjaa, joka rakastaa kuunnella omaa ääntään. Mikä alkaa kelvollisen mielenkiintoisena proosana, loppua kohti sortuu itäeurooppalaiseksi viisasteluksi, hahmottomaksi muodoksi ilman sisältöä, puheeksi puhumisen tähden.
Niinpä sitä sitten seikkaillaan pitkin poikin Unkarin historiaa, sinne tänne sinkoillen, ja käy toki selväksi, että vuoden 1956 kansannousun verinen tukahdutus on kansallinen trauma. Sen jälkeen lukija joutuukin vaeltamaan metaforien pustalla, jossa ei ole ilmansuuntia eikä opas vaikuta olevan tehtäviensä tasalla. Kivikello vaikuttaa olevan taas yksi Odysseuksesta vaikutteita ammentaneita itseriittoisia nykyajan kirjallisuuden suurteoksia, mutta valitettavasti James Joyce oli jo.

[Samppa Sirnö]

Kivikello on kuvaus sosialismin romahduksen jälkeisen Unkarin aatemaailmasta ulkomailla asuneen intellektuellin näkökulmasta hänen palatessaan viettämään eläkepäiviä kotiseudulleen. Kirjassa palataan myös Unkarin lähihistoriaan. Kirja kuvaa sosialismin romahdusta seurannutta aatteiden tulvaa ja vapauden tunnetta, sekä käydään lävitse niitä ristiriitoja joita sosialismin aika ihmisten välille asetti. Kuka oli petturi ja kuka ei?

[François]

Sterk politiek geladen roman met prachtige zinnen, klaar om geciteerd te worden.