A Hungarian Romance

Drawing on the old Hungarian sz phistoria or romance tradition, gnes Hankiss both assimilates its 16th century roots and subverts them with this engaging double narrative of His-story -- show trials, rebellions and religious unrest that helped to form the Hungarian national identity -- and Her-story -- searing private conflicts within a family and a marriage that must burst into the public sphere. The domestic struggle of a woman for identity and independence mirrors and finally overwhelms the national story in this great novel artfully combining lyricism with passion, wonderfully translated into English.