Péter Nádas
Encyclopedia
Péter Nádas is a Hungarian
writer, playwright, and essayist.
as the son of László Nádas and Klára Tauber. After the takeover of the Hungarian Nazis, the Arrow Cross Party
on 15 October 1944, Klára Tauber escaped with her son to Bačka
and Novi Sad
, but returned to the capital directly before the Siege of Budapest
. Péter Nádas survived the siege together with his mother in the flat of his uncle, the journalist Pál Aranyossi.
Even though his parents were illegal Communists
during World War II
and involved with the Communist administration later on, as well, they had both their sons—Péter and Pál—baptized in the Reformed (Calvinist)
Church of Pozsonyi Street. His mother died of an illness when he was 13. In 1958, his father—head of department in one of the ministries, slandered with accusations of embezzlement, then exonerated by the court of all charges—committed suicide; Péter Nádas became an orphan at 16. Magda Aranyossi became the guardian
of the two children.
Between 1961 and 1963 Péter Nádas studied journalism
and photography
. He worked as a journalist at a Budapest magazine (Pest Megyei Hírlap) from 1965 to 1969. He also worked as a playwright
and a photographer. Since 1969 he has been a freelancer.
In 1990 he married Magda Salamon (with whom he had been living since 1962). In 1984 they moved to a small village in western Hungary, Gombosszeg
, where they have resided ever since, though he also has a residence in the Castle District of Buda
.
In 1993, he was elected member of the Széchenyi Academy of Letters and Arts.
Since the early 1970s, he has frequently spent time in Berlin
, Germany, attending lectures at Humboldt University or reading in the Staatsbibliothek
. He has been a fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Institute for Advanced Study. In 2006, he was elected a member of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin. He enjoys a high reputation in Germany.
The End of a Family Story in 1977.
He published his second novel, A Book of Memories
in 1986. It took Nádas eleven years to write this book. The motto of this novel is from the Gospel according to John: "But he spake of the temple of his body" (John, 2.21). In this novel, Nádas describes the world as a system of relations linking human bodies to each other. This book earned Nádas comparisons to Proust
.
He published his latest novel, the three-volume Parallel Stories
(I: The Mute Realm, II: In the Depths of Night, III: A Breath of Freedom) in 2005. This novel is a multitude of independent stories melt into one single narrative. It took Nádas eighteen years to complete this book. The novel has been described as "a virtuoso combination of nineteenth-century high realism with the experimentalism of the nouveau roman
", while "the real narrative is that of bodies' actions on one another, their attraction and desires, their mutual memories" (Gábor Csordás). The plot is constructed around the histories of two families: one—the Lippay-Lehrs, who are Hungarian, the other—the Döhrings, who are German. These two main threads link irregularly up to one another via specific events or figures.
Nádas' other novels include Lovely Tale of Photography, Yearbook, On Heavenly and Earthly Love, and A Dialogue with Richard Swartz. Death is a recurrent theme in Nádas' work, particularly in Own Death, based on his experience of clinical death
.
His writing has been described as intellectual, detailed, strong, innovative, and demanding.
A volume of interviews with Péter Nádas, by Zsófia Mihancsik (Nincs mennyezet, nincs födém) was published in 2006.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
writer, playwright, and essayist.
Biography
He was born in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
as the son of László Nádas and Klára Tauber. After the takeover of the Hungarian Nazis, the Arrow Cross Party
Arrow Cross Party
The Arrow Cross Party was a national socialist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which led in Hungary a government known as the Government of National Unity from October 15, 1944 to 28 March 1945...
on 15 October 1944, Klára Tauber escaped with her son to Bačka
Backa
Bačka is a geographical area within the Pannonian plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east of which confluence is located near Titel...
and Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
, but returned to the capital directly before the Siege of Budapest
Battle of Budapest
The Siege of Budapest centered on the Hungarian capital city of Budapest. It was fought towards the end of World War II in Europe, during the Soviet Budapest Offensive. The siege started when Budapest, defended by Hungarian and German troops, was first encircled on 29 December 1944 by the Red Army...
. Péter Nádas survived the siege together with his mother in the flat of his uncle, the journalist Pál Aranyossi.
Even though his parents were illegal Communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and involved with the Communist administration later on, as well, they had both their sons—Péter and Pál—baptized in the Reformed (Calvinist)
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
Church of Pozsonyi Street. His mother died of an illness when he was 13. In 1958, his father—head of department in one of the ministries, slandered with accusations of embezzlement, then exonerated by the court of all charges—committed suicide; Péter Nádas became an orphan at 16. Magda Aranyossi became the guardian
Legal guardian
A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority to care for the personal and property interests of another person, called a ward. Usually, a person has the status of guardian because the ward is incapable of caring for his or her own interests due to infancy, incapacity, or disability...
of the two children.
Between 1961 and 1963 Péter Nádas studied journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
. He worked as a journalist at a Budapest magazine (Pest Megyei Hírlap) from 1965 to 1969. He also worked as a playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and a photographer. Since 1969 he has been a freelancer.
In 1990 he married Magda Salamon (with whom he had been living since 1962). In 1984 they moved to a small village in western Hungary, Gombosszeg
Gombosszeg
- External links :* *...
, where they have resided ever since, though he also has a residence in the Castle District of Buda
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
.
In 1993, he was elected member of the Széchenyi Academy of Letters and Arts.
Since the early 1970s, he has frequently spent time in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany, attending lectures at Humboldt University or reading in the Staatsbibliothek
Berlin State Library
The Berlin State Library is a library in Berlin, Germany and a property of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.-Buildings:The State Library runs several premises, three of which are open for users, namely House 1 in Unter den Linden 8, House 2 in Potsdamer Straße 33 and the newspaper archive...
. He has been a fellow of the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Institute for Advanced Study. In 2006, he was elected a member of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin. He enjoys a high reputation in Germany.
Works
After publishing volumes of short stories, he published his first novelNovel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The End of a Family Story in 1977.
He published his second novel, A Book of Memories
A Book of Memories
A Book of Memories is a 1986 novel by the Hungarian writer Péter Nádas. The narrative follows a Hungarian novelist involved in a romantic triangle in East Berlin; interwoven with the main story are sections of a novel the main character is writing, about a German novelist at the turn of the...
in 1986. It took Nádas eleven years to write this book. The motto of this novel is from the Gospel according to John: "But he spake of the temple of his body" (John, 2.21). In this novel, Nádas describes the world as a system of relations linking human bodies to each other. This book earned Nádas comparisons to Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...
.
He published his latest novel, the three-volume Parallel Stories
Parallel Stories
Parallel Stories is a 2005 novel in three volumes by the Hungarian writer Péter Nádas. It comprises the installments The Silent Province , In the Depths of the Night , and A Breath of Freedom . The narrative portrays Hungary during the 20th century. The novel took 18 years to write...
(I: The Mute Realm, II: In the Depths of Night, III: A Breath of Freedom) in 2005. This novel is a multitude of independent stories melt into one single narrative. It took Nádas eighteen years to complete this book. The novel has been described as "a virtuoso combination of nineteenth-century high realism with the experimentalism of the nouveau roman
Nouveau roman
The nouveau roman is a type of 1950s French novel that diverged from classical literary genres. Émile Henriot coined the title in an article in the popular French newspaper Le Monde on May 22, 1957 to describe certain writers who experimented with style in each novel, creating an essentially new...
", while "the real narrative is that of bodies' actions on one another, their attraction and desires, their mutual memories" (Gábor Csordás). The plot is constructed around the histories of two families: one—the Lippay-Lehrs, who are Hungarian, the other—the Döhrings, who are German. These two main threads link irregularly up to one another via specific events or figures.
Nádas' other novels include Lovely Tale of Photography, Yearbook, On Heavenly and Earthly Love, and A Dialogue with Richard Swartz. Death is a recurrent theme in Nádas' work, particularly in Own Death, based on his experience of clinical death
Clinical death
Clinical death is the medical term for cessation of blood circulation and breathing, the two necessary criteria to sustain life. It occurs when the heart stops beating in a regular rhythm, a condition called cardiac arrest. The term is also sometimes used in resuscitation research.Stopped blood...
.
His writing has been described as intellectual, detailed, strong, innovative, and demanding.
A volume of interviews with Péter Nádas, by Zsófia Mihancsik (Nincs mennyezet, nincs födém) was published in 2006.
Works in English
- Parallel Stories: A NovelParallel StoriesParallel Stories is a 2005 novel in three volumes by the Hungarian writer Péter Nádas. It comprises the installments The Silent Province , In the Depths of the Night , and A Breath of Freedom . The narrative portrays Hungary during the 20th century. The novel took 18 years to write...
(ISBN 978-0374229764) - A Lovely Tale of Photography (ISBN 8090217168)
- The End of a Family StoryThe End of a Family StoryThe End of a Family Story is a 1977 novel by the Hungarian writer Péter Nádas. The narrative follows a boy who grows up in Hungary in the 1950s, and whose grandfather tells him stories about their family's past. The prose frequently shifts in form and perspective...
(ISBN 0140291792) - A Book of MemoriesA Book of MemoriesA Book of Memories is a 1986 novel by the Hungarian writer Péter Nádas. The narrative follows a Hungarian novelist involved in a romantic triangle in East Berlin; interwoven with the main story are sections of a novel the main character is writing, about a German novelist at the turn of the...
(ISBN 0374115435) (ISBN 9780312427962)(New York) (ISBN 022403524X) (ISBN 0374115435) (ISBN 0140275673) (ISBN 0099766310)(London) - "A Tale About Fire and Knowledge" in the anthology Caught in a Story
- Love (ISBN 0374529558)
- Own Death (ISBN 3865210104)
- Fire and Knowledge: Fiction and Essays (ISBN 0374299641)
Awards
He has received numerous awards, including- the Prize for Hungarian Art, 1989,
- the Austrian State Prize for European Literature (Österreichischer Staatspreis für Europäische Literatur), Austria, 1991,
- Kossuth PrizeKossuth PrizeThe Kossuth Prize is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionary Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1948 by the Hungarian National Assembly, to acknowledge outstanding personal and group achievements in the fields of...
, Hungary, 1992, - the Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding (Leipziger Buchpreis zur Europäischen Verständigung), Germany, 1995,
- the Vilenica International Prize for Literature, Slovenia, 1998,
- the Prize for the Best Foreign Book (Prix du Meilleur Livre ÉtrangerPrix du Meilleur Livre ÉtrangerThe Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger is a French literary prize created in 1948. It is awarded yearly in two categories: Novel and Essay for books translated in to French.- Prix du Meilleur livre étranger — Novel :* 2010: Gonçalo M...
), France, 1998, - the Franz Kafka PrizeFranz Kafka PrizeThe Franz Kafka Prize is an international literary award presented in honour of Franz Kafka, the German language novelist. The prize was first awarded in 2001 and is co-sponsored by the and the city of Prague, Czech Republic. At a presentation held annually at the end of October in the Old Town...
for LiteratureLiteratureLiterature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, 2003.
External links
- Gábor Csordás: The body of the text. Corporeal writing in Péter Nádas's "Parallel Stories"
- Ottilie Mulzet: A la recherche de corps perdus: Notes from a reading of Péter Nádas's A néma tartomány (The Mute Realm)
- Multilingual Literature Database of the Hungarian Book Foundation
- Péter Nádas: Burial
- Susan Sontag: Nádas's Comedy of Interment