Be Faithful Unto Death


Zsigmond Móricz - 1920
    Misi, a dreamer and would-be writer, is falsely accused of stealing a winning lottery ticket. The torments brought on by this incident which he is forced to undergo, and from which he grows, are superbly described, as Stephen Vizinczey's new translation unleashes the full power of Moricz's prose. First published in 1921, the novel is brimming with vivid detail from the provincial life that Moricz knew so well, and shot through with a sense of the tragic fate of a newly truncated Hungary. But ultimately it is the universal quality of the experience captured here, and the author's uncanny ability to rediscover for the reader precisely what it feels like to be that child, which makes this portrait of the artist as a young boy not merely a Hungarian, but an international classic."

The Ant And The Pigeon


Leo Tolstoy - 1978
    

Egy magyar nábob


Mór Jókai - 1853
    He originally studied law and became an advocate in what is now Budapest. Encouraged by the reception of his first play, The Jewish Boy, he turned to writing, producing Working Days, and becoming editor of Életképek, the leading Hungarian literary journal. Following a revolution and the deposition of the Hapsburg dynasty, he became a political suspect. He spent the next fourteen years reviving the Magyar language, producing thirty romances and numerous other works. After the re-establishment of the Hungarian Constitution, he sat in parliament for twenty years, founded and edited the government organ Hon, and was later elevated to the upper house by the king. A Hungarian Nabob, considered by Jokai to be his best work, is a richly colored picture of aristocratic life, full of vivid, bustling scenes, various native characters, and humorous and dramatic incidents. The Nabob figure is a Hungarian potentate of vast estates, who lives amidst a crowd of retainers, wassailing companions, women, gamblers, fools, and gypsies. The plot relates to the intrigues of his dissolute heir, and his marriage with a young girl which serves to baffle them.

Kornél Esti


Dezső Kosztolányi - 1934
    Here is a novel which inquires: What if your id (loyally keeping your name) decides to strike out on its own, cuts a disreputable swath through the world, and then sends home to you all its unpaid bills and ruined maidens? And then: What if you and your alter ego decide to write a book together?

The Ransom of Red Chief


O. Henry - 1907
    The Starters series are original stories in a variety of formats: narrative, interactive, and comic strip. They contain glossaries and exercises and are carefully graded in structure and vocabulary. Cassettes are available for some titles.

Novel Notes


Jerome K. Jerome - 1893
    She said she had often wondered I had never thought of doing so before. "

The Umbrella Man and Other Stories


Roald Dahl - 1982
    - The Great Automatic Grammatizator- Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat- The Butler- Man from the South- The Landlady- Parson’s Pleasure- The Umbrella Man- Katina- The Way Up to Heaven- Royal Jelly- Vengeance Is Mine Inc.- Taste- Neck

The Blonde Hurricane


Jenő Rejtő - 1939
    HUNGARY LITERARY FOLKLORE.

Welcome to the Monkey House


Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - 1968
    Originally printed in publications as diverse as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Atlantic Monthly, these superb stories share Vonnegut’s audacious sense of humor and extraordinary range of creative vision.Alternative cover edition here

My Family Right Or Wrong


Ephraim Kishon - 1977
    Light, humerous, and entertaining.

The Pendragon Legend


Antal Szerb - 1934
    Invited to the family seat--Pendragon Castle in North Wales--Batky receives a mysterious phone call warning him not to go; but he does and finds himself in a bizarre world of mysticism, romance, animal experimentation, and planned murder. His quest to solve the central mystery takes him down strange byways--old libraries and warehouse cellars, Welsh mountains, and underground tombs.

Eclipse of the Crescent Moon


Géza Gárdonyi - 1899
    Besides the tales of several battles, the novel details the 1552 Siege of Eger, during which Captain István Dobó's 2,000 Hungarian men, women and children inside the county's castle, defeated a Turkish force of 80,000 men. The Hungarian title, Egri csillagok> (literally, "Stars of Eger"), is required reading in Hungarian schools.

Pippi Longstocking


Astrid Lindgren - 1945
    She has crazy red pigtails, no parents to tell her what to do, a horse that lives on her porch, and a flair for the outrageous that seems to lead to one adventure after another!

The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife - a Parker Pyne Short Story


Agatha Christie - 1932
    She is sure that a little minx is making him look like a fool. In an attempt to revitalise her marriage, she responds to an advertisement in the personals. "Are You Happy? If Not Consult Mr. Parker Pyne." Later that morning, she nervously knocks on his door at 17 Richmond Street in London.Her life soon undergoes a rapid transformation.Librarian's note: this entry relates to the short story, "The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife." Collections and the other stories by the author are located elsewhere on Goodreads. The Parker Pyne series includes 14 short stories. Entries for the stories can be found by searching Goodreads for: "a Parker Pyne Short Story."Librarian's note #2: the story was published in the print anthologies 'Parker Pyne Investigates' and 'Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective' in 1934. It first appeared in "Women's Pictorial" in 1932.

The Return of Simple


Langston Hughes - 1994
    Simple, Simple to his fans, made weekly appearances beginning in 1943 in Langston Hughes' column in the Chicago Defender. Simple may have shared his readers feelings of loss and dispossession, but he also cheered them on with his wonderful wit and passion for life.