George Szirtes Knihy

Při zběžném pohledu by se zdálo, že Sándor Márai v románu Judita rozehrává konvenční manželský trojúhelník. Když se ale začteme, ukáže se, že v tomto příběhu nejde o klasickou nevěru ani o žádnou třetí, neviditelnou a osudovou postavu v pozadí. Ze svědectví o manželském životě a vzájemném vztahu protagonistů vyplývá jiné, mnohem hlubší drama. Oba vyprávějí stejný příběh, ve kterém jako by hlavním zdrojem nesnází byla odlišnost ženského a mužského pohledu či nepatrné rozdíly hodnot a instinktů, které si každý z nich přináší ze svého prostředí. Ve skutečnosti však ona i on usilují o to, aby jim jejich protějšek bezvýhradně porozuměl.Ve vzrušujícím, hluboce psychologickém dramatu na hraně thrilleru, plném jemných rozporů a překvapivých paralel, vyjádřil Márai nadčasové porozumění lásce i vášni a mistrovsky v detailu rozehrál stěží uchopitelné nuance a vystihl nepřekročitelné hranice ve vztazích mezi lidmi. Hranice, které nakonec vypovídají o konečném smyslu života.

This anthology of new writing promotes contemporary literature of the English language from Britain and the rest of the Commonwealth. It contains new names among older, recognizable names and includes short stories, poems, novels in progress and short fiction.

“The Dog adopted the Ancsas in the spring of ’48”: so the story begins. The Ancsas are a middle-aged couple living on the outskirts of Budapest in a ruinous Hungary that is just beginning to wake up from the nightmare of World War II. The new Communist government promises to set things straight, and Mr. Ancsa, an engineer, is as eager to get to work building the future as he is to forget the past. The last thing he has time for is a little mongrel bitch, pregnant with her first litter. But Niki knows better, and before long she is part of the Ancsa household. The Ancsas even take her along with them when Mr. Ancsa’s new job requires a move to an apartment in the city. Then Mr. Ancsa is swept up in a political crackdown—disappearing without a trace. For five years he does not return, five years of absence, silence, fear, and the constant struggle to survive—five years during which Mrs. Ancsa and Niki have only each other. The story of Niki, an ordinary dog, and the Ancsas, a no less ordinary couple, is an extraordinarily touching, utterly unsentimental, parable about caring, kindness, and the endurance of love.

In 1756 Giacomo Casanova escaped from the dreaded cells of Venice's most infamous jail : it is at this moment that Sandor Marai begins his story. Stopping to rest at the Italian village of Bolzano, Casanova secures a loan to rebuild his life, and resumes his art of seduction. But there is another reason he has come to this particular village : the memory of a duel he fought long ago with the duke of Parma over a girl named Francesca. Casanova lost the fight; Francesca became the duke's wife; and the duke spared Casanova's life on the condition that he never set eyes on her again. The village of Bolzano is part of the duke's lands. Now an old man, the duke arrives at the inn with a love letter he has intercepted from his wife to Casanova. He could kill Casanova on the spot but instead makes him an irresistable offer, one that will ultimately be the downfall of the notorious lover.