Skylark
Dezsö Kosztolányi
Translated by Richard Aczel
With an introduction by Péter Esterházy
A masterpiece of twentieth-century Hungarian fiction,
Kosztolányi's Skylark is a classic portrait of provincial
life in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Set in the autumn
of 1899, it focuses on one extraordinary week in the
otherwise uneventful lives of an elderly Hungarian couple.
Their ugly spinster daughter, nicknamed Skylark, has
left them for an unprecedented holiday with relatives
in the country. At first, the couple, whose entire existence
revolves around their daughter, are devastated by her
absence. Slowly, however, they rediscover the delights
and diversions of small-town life, finally reaching
the shocking conclusion that their daughter is a burden
to them.
In this beautifully written tale Kosztolányi turns
family sentiment on its head with an irony that is as
telling now as it was nearly seventy years ago.
"The most original, economical, and painful novel I
have read in a long time." - The Times
"This is an unusually fine short novel which conveys
the spirit of life in small town Hungary at the turn
of the 19th-20th centuries. If you are unsure where
to start with Kosztolányi, I would read Skylark
first and then move on to Anna Édes or
his short fiction"- Amazon (extract from
a reader's online review)
1993
245 pages
ISBN 978-963-9116-66-5 paperback $17.95 / €13.95
/ £11.99
Published in the series:
Central
European Classics / CEU Press Classics
ISSN 1418-0162
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