Author: Sándor Márai Original title: A gyertyák csonkig egnék (Hungarian) Translated into English by: Carol Brown Janeway Published: 1942 (original), 2003 (translation) Genre: Literature Excerpt from Embers Story: It’s 1941 and an old general is living alone with his servants in a castle in the Carpathian forest. One day an old friend of his announces his arrival, and old memories bubble to the surface. The friend listens while the general talks about their childhood friendship and the events that led to the friend’s departure 41 years before. Review: This novel is a bit unusual in its set-up in that nearly two-thirds of the story is a monologue by one of the main characters. The interjections by the other main character are so few and short that it can’t really be called a dialogue. The first third of the story is scene setting, descriptions of people, places and situations, told in a conventional style. The story is slow, almost painfully so at times. The language is flowing,...
Bookish expressions of a Bibliophile living in Reykjavík