He does not understand the reason for his fate. He doesn’t particularly think of himself as Jewish. And his fellow prisoners, who decry his lack of Yiddish, keep telling him, “You are no Jew.” In the lowest circle of the Holocaust, Georg remains an outsider.The genius of Imre Kertesz’s unblinking novel lies in its refusal to mitigate the strangeness of its events, not least of which is Georg’s dogmatic insistence on making sense of what he witnesses–or pretending that what he witnesses makes sense. Haunting, evocative, and all the more horrifying for its rigorous avoidance of sentiment, Fatelessness is a masterpiece in the traditions of Primo Levi, Elie Wiesel, and Tadeusz Borowski.

    And Csardas is a deftly plotted saga of great power, beauty, and historical authenticity that follows the changing fortunes of three aristocratic European families--spanning two world wars and four countries, and brimming with richly drawn, unforgettable characters. Trying to found a dynasty against the inflexible caste system of the crumbling Austro-Hungarian Empire, stern Jewish banker Zsignmond Ferenc had married Marta Bogozy, a gay, charming woman of noble birth. Their daughters, "The two enchanting Ferenc sisters," Malie and Eva, are the most sought-after young women in their small society. Little do they realize that their secure world of privilege is soon to be consumed in the holocaust of the First World War and subsequent events.Masterfully, Diane Pearson interweaves the story of Malie and Eva with the lives of the other Ferencs, their relatives, and the history of the troubled times--the socialist, fascist, and finally communist regimes; the scattering of the family and its struggle simply to survive; and the joyous reunion after World War II of those who do.This is a superbly written, poignant epic of war and peace--the brave, dignified, and sometimes cruel story of living, breathing characters whose hopes, failures, and triumphs will entrance readers everywhere.