The End of a Family Story
Encyclopedia
The 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. An English translation by Imre Goldstein was published in 1998 through Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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reviewed the book for The New York Times
, and wrote that its "tediousness is as profound as the themes it seeks to engage." Kalfus continued: "The difficulty -- no, impenetrability -- of this novel probably cannot be laid to the translator, Imre Goldstein, who collaborated on the more lucid translation of A Book of Memories
. Here Nadas's method of telling -- or not telling -- a story does not seem to be dependent on the translator's choice of words. Regardless of whose words they are, the structure that encloses them fails to intensify their emotional charge."
Péter Nádas
Péter Nádas is a Hungarian writer, playwright, and essayist.- Biography :He was born in Budapest 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...
. 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. An English translation by Imre Goldstein was published in 1998 through Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Farrar, Straus and Giroux is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger W. Straus, Jr. and John C. Farrar. Known primarily as Farrar, Straus in its first decade of existence, the company was renamed several times, including Farrar, Straus and Young and Farrar, Straus and Cudahy...
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Reception
Ken KalfusKen Kalfus
Ken Kalfus is an American author and journalist. Three of his books have been named New York Times Notable Books of the Year.-Early life and education:...
reviewed the book for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, and wrote that its "tediousness is as profound as the themes it seeks to engage." Kalfus continued: "The difficulty -- no, impenetrability -- of this novel probably cannot be laid to the translator, Imre Goldstein, who collaborated on the more lucid translation of 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...
. Here Nadas's method of telling -- or not telling -- a story does not seem to be dependent on the translator's choice of words. Regardless of whose words they are, the structure that encloses them fails to intensify their emotional charge."