LÆSENOTER: HUNGARIAN LITERATURE
Hungarian literature is gaining strong momentum – including in Danish translation. In this edition of LÆSENOTER, we explore key voices and movements and ask what defines the Hungarian literary tradition. Translator Morten Østergaard Rasmussen shares his insights.
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- LÆSENOTER: HUNGARIAN LITERATURE
We have previously explored Iranian literature in LÆSENOTER. In this edition, we continue our literary world map with a focus on Hungarian literature, which in recent years – culminating in the awarding of the Nobel Prize to László Krasznahorkai – has attracted particular attention.
In Denmark, readers have gained access in recent years to translated works by writers such as Magda Szabó – whose novel The Door you can experience as a stage production at REVOLVER next year – as well as Imre Kertész, Péter Nádas, József Debreczeni and Krasznahorkai.
But what defines Hungary’s literary culture? To explore this, Bogforum’s Head of Programme, Johan Lose, speaks with translator Morten Østergaard Rasmussen.
The first thing I’d like to ask you is how you became interested in Hungarian and Hungarian literature?
In short, my interest actually began with the language itself. I wanted to learn a wild language, and that ended up being Hungarian.
Wild, because it’s so unfamiliar and difficult to access?
Mainly because, from a Danish perspective, it’s an interesting mix of the unfamiliar and the familiar. Translating from Hungarian into Danish isn’t entirely impossible, because the imagery, ideas and expressions resemble things we recognise, but the grammar and the logic of the language are completely different.
When did you start translating?
It happened quite quickly. I had private lessons with the former lecturer in Hungarian at Aarhus University, Judit Horváth, where we mainly focused on reading fiction. Instead of choosing texts that were easy to read, Judit introduced me from the very beginning to key works from Hungarian literary history, without worrying about my level. It started with poems from the Romantic period by Sándor Petőfi, Hungary’s great national poet. I had to really dive into the text and translate word by word to understand what was going on, and I discovered that it was incredibly exciting. I experimented a bit, poem by poem, and gradually got the idea to make a “proper” translation for publication, which eventually became Péter Nádas’s The Bible.
It’s interesting that over the past twenty years, Hungarian writers have often been among the favourites when the Nobel Prize is awarded. Imre Kertész won in 2002, and László Krasznahorkai won last year. Why do you think so much outstanding literature is written in Hungary?
In Hungary, there is a strong sense of pride in their culture, and real efforts have been made to preserve traditions – not only out of patriotism, but also out of a genuine appreciation for what Hungary has to offer. Hungarian writers are also less hesitant to be intellectual compared to Danish literature, where works are often more immediate and accessible to readers. At the same time, Hungarian culture is very outward-looking. Many poets in the early 20th century travelled to Paris, and Hungary has a long tradition of reflecting itself in, and measuring itself against, especially Germanic culture and Vienna.
Det Engelske Flag - Imre Kertész
Bibelen - Péter Nádas
Rejsende i måneskin - Antal Szerb
Katalingaden - Magda Szabó
Your most recent translation is Rejsende i måneskin by Antal Szerb. Who was he?
Antal Szerb is an intriguing figure in Hungarian literary history. Rejsende i måneskin is without doubt one of the most important and beloved classics in Hungary. Most bookshops typically have two or three different editions in stock, both of this novel and of his other works. And yet, Antal Szerb doesn’t quite have a fixed place in Hungarian literary history; you can find literary histories where he is only mentioned in a few short paragraphs. Perhaps this is because his writing is more imaginative and less solemn, and because he was just as fond of French and English literature as of Hungarian literature. He was also strongly influenced by genre fiction, particularly thrillers and adventure novels.
It is a dreamlike body of work that stands in stark contrast to his own life. He was born into a Jewish family in the early 20th century but converted to Catholicism as a child. During the Second World War, he was still regarded as Jewish and was affected by the laws that restricted the rights of Jews. In 1944, he was conscripted into labour service, the Hungarian state’s way of dealing with Jews, and in a labour camp in western Hungary he was ultimately beaten to death by guards. Today, he is regarded as one of the most prominent Hungarian writers who lost their lives during the Holocaust.
Staying with a classic, Magda Szabó. Three of her books have recently been published in Danish. What do you find particularly striking about her?
Magda Szabó is widely loved and read in Hungary, and Døren is considered one of the greatest works of the second half of the 20th century. She is undoubtedly a fascinating writer because she doesn’t tell grand historical narratives; instead, she zooms in on the individual Hungarian and tells the story of Hungary through concrete lives. Katalingaden, which has just been published, for example, is structured around years rather than chapters, and each year marks both a key event in Hungarian history from the 1930s up until the novel was published in 1969, and important moments in the shared lives of three families.
I’ve learned a great deal about Hungarian life and history from reading Magda Szabó’s books, as they offer an intimate insight into how historical events shape the everyday lives of ordinary people. At the same time, you can easily set the historical context aside and simply read her books as character-driven dramas, and if you like Tove Ditlevsen, I can highly recommend Magda Szabó.
Døren - Magda Szabó
Krig og krig - László Krasznahorkai
Familien Toth - István Örkény
You compare Ditlevsen and Szabó. That makes me wonder what Hungarians read in translation. Are there particular language areas they are interested in, or specific authors?
There is quite a lot of interest in Scandinavian literature. For example, you can easily find Karl Ove Knausgård and Jón Kalman Stefánsson in bookshops in Budapest. The last time I was there, I also saw Kirsten Thorup’s Indtil vanvid, indtil døden displayed in the window of one of the major bookshops in the city centre. But in general, Hungarians read a great deal of Hungarian literature, and the selection tends to reflect a more conservative taste, with a strong focus on republishing classics.
What are you translating at the moment?
Right now, I’m working on a novel by Nobel Prize winner László Krasznahorkai titled Krig og krig. It’s one of my favourite works of his, but it’s also quite an unusual novel. The book is about an archivist who discovers a manuscript in an archive in a very small Hungarian town, which he finds so brilliant that he feels compelled to “write it into eternity”. For him, the best way to do that is to put it online, and of course he has to do so in “the centre of the world” – that is, New York.
Krig og krig is quite typical of many of Krasznahorkai’s books: he takes one of his eccentric characters and sends them out into the world, on a kind of journey. But even though they travel, they tend to move in circles and never really get anywhere. The idea of New York is probably inspired by his own life, as he travelled from Hungary to the wider world. He has spent a lot of time in Asia, and has also lived in New York – in fact, in Allen Ginsberg’s apartment.
Finally, Morten, I’d like to ask where you would recommend starting if you want to explore Hungarian literature?
If you’re looking for an entertaining introduction to Hungarian literature, I would recommend the novel Familien Tóth by István Örkény. It’s both a quick read and genuinely funny, and it’s a good example of the role of the absurd and the grotesque in Hungarian literature. No matter how much we laugh, tragedy is always lurking just around the corner. I would also highlight Rejsende i måneskin. It’s a book that Hungarians themselves actually read, and it’s simply very entertaining and magical. Once you’ve read those two, I think you can take it from there.