The Case Worker by George Konrád

[Diane]

Rating: 4 Stars


Yet another depressing 1001 book. Tt is the story of a Hungarian child social worker and the types of clients he sees and his feelings about what he sees. Some of his tales are heart-rending while others are very tongue in cheek. I suspect that the main character's experiences are probably similar to those of any social worker in any part of the world. I found it interesting that the author said that Hungary had the highest suicide rate in the world. It no longer does (I think it is 14th worldwide which is still very high) but it led the world by a significant margin during the latter half of the 20th century, when this book was written.

Overall, not an easy read due to both the subject matter, which is often explicitly and disturbingly detailed, and the long sentences the author often uses. Despite the longish sentences and the fact that it is translated, the writing is very good. Probably not for everyone, but I thought it was a well written and interesting book.