Splinters

Yes, I remember the name. I once sought out a copy of Helping Verbs of the Heart because it was published by Quartet, and because somebody mentioned Peter Handke. I remember too the stiffness of the edition. And how small it was. Usually a good sign. But I didn't read it. A page or two perhaps before it snapped shut. The same happened with another Hungarian writer called Peter, Nadas, this time with a huge book: The Book of Memories. I found it unreadable despite Susan Sontag comparing it to Proust. Perhaps it was the translation.

Now, fifteen or more years later, Esterh?zy has returned with Celestial Harmonies: "A biographical novel in the grand European literary tradition that spans multiple generations and three centuries of tumultuous Central European history." To which I cry: Run away! Run away!