■■^■■■■■■■^■■IIII^^HH JerzyPilch.A Thousand Peaceful Cities . David Frick,tr. Rochester, New York. Open Letter. 2010. 143 pages. $14.95. ISBN 978-1-934824-27-6 A Thousand Peaceful Citiesis thethird novelofJerzy Pilch'sto be translatedintoEnglish , andthefirst tobe translated byDavidFrick, whodoes a marvelous jobreflecting thepunch andwitoftheoriginal. The book is a coming-of-age storythatrevolvesaround what maybe themostpathetic assassinationattempt inthehistory ofliterature . Pilchcreates a seriesofsweet, sad, funny, Hrabalianvignettes on theeventsleadingup to theday mÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ^^^^mÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^mÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊm by the author ofOutStealingHorses PERPETTERSONH I Orhan Kemal ^^^^ I InJail with NazimHikmet ^^^^^H ^H [Vin'iiud anJ.tith -in lt»nniun by Hcnguu Kxmt ^^^^^^^^^^^B farmer Mátyás Omasta bytheyoung studentTamas Grynaeus,in full viewofthemostly Hungarian and Slovak congregation of the grand Lutheran church ofthisrich provincial town.Variouscharacters take up thenarrative ofthestory trying to workouta motive forthemurder ,butwe receive no unequivocal answerto the questionof "whydone -it. " The author, however, describes withgreatpsychological insight howthedifferent characters approach theproblem andpresents incolorful detailthehistory andlife ofa Hungarian provincial town. A Hungariancriticcompared Szilasi's styleand narrative techniquetothat ofUmberto Eco's;this is a flattering assessment nottotallyunfounded , thoughEco usually workson a muchbroadercanvas. TherearesomeSlovakand(thanks to certain Irish horse-breeding characters) frequent Englishreferencesinthebook ,butevenreaders withno knowledgeof thesetwo languageswouldenjoyand appreciatethecomplexand entertaining narrative. Ofthebook'sfivechapters, the longestand mostgripping is the third, which involves thedescription oftherevolutionary eventsof1956 and itsaftermath in thelocality of "Haragos."Themostdisappointing (for thisreader, atleast)is thefinal, surrealistic chapter, whichadopts thetechnique ofa mock-supernaturalAmerican film. Theauthor deliberately shunstheusualconclusions ofa thriller, and whilewe remain inthedarkaboutcertain aspectsof themurder intheLutheran church, Szentek hárfája canstillbe hailedas oneofthebestachievements ofcontemporary Hungarian fiction. George Gömöri London 681WorldLiterature Today ouradolescent hero,Jerzy, triesto dispatch Wtadyslaw Gomutka (then firstsecretary of the Communist Partyin Poland) withthe aid of his dad and his dad's bestfriend, thedesperately alcoholic Mr.Traba. Gomutka, laterresponsible forthe persecution ofCatholics, intellectuals ,and,finally, Jews, wouldseem a good target, although it is only after ourassassins realizethey can't afford thetrip toChinatoassassinateMao Tse-tung thatthey settle on him:thebookopenswitha dream sequencestraight out of Crouching Tiger,HiddenDragonin which Mr. Trabaand Chairman Mao faceoff in a deadly,serpentine duel - but alas,likemostofthethings people wanttodo inthisnovel,thatduel is doomedtoremain justa dream. When thetime finally comes, the three would-be assassins converse on thelongtrain rideto Warsaw, the twooldermenrecounting their own true orfalse lovestories, whileJerzy focuses on "theangelof [his]first love." Sublimely framing Jerzy 'sinteractions withthis"angel"as wellas hisconcupiscence at cafés withsexy waitresses, isMr. Traba's periodic fretting abouthaving failed todeflower theshockingly ugly wardwhofell to himinWorld WarII,andwhodied shortly thereafter, having(alas) not beenraped bythe RedArmy. In its juxtaposition of desire withdutyto thePolishnation, A ThousandPeacefulCities takes up wherethe1953novelTrans-Atlantyk ,by Polish-Argentine writer Witold Gombrowicz, left off. Fansof Gombrowicz willfindthisa much gentler, yet almostequally rich, examination ofwhatitmeanstobe an individualin a bygoneworld. Other overlaps include Jerzy's relationship withhis father, withthe church (here, theLutheran Church), and- ah, yes - withalcohol.Pilch has certainly written aboutalcohol before, butperhapsnowhere more touchinglythan here, diligently describing Jerzy's veryfirst sip of schnapps - thecenterof an initiationritual bywhichhe is letin on theGomutka plotand,ina way,on manhood, too. Jennifer Croft Northwestern University László Szilasi. Szentek hárfája. Budapest . Magvetö. 2010. 317 pages. 2990 Ft.ISBN 978-963-14-2768-4 Sincethechangeofregime in1989, literary prizeshaveproliferated in Hungary. Winners ofsomeofthese are theresultof "popularity contests ," votedfor bythereading public .Nominations forprizesfunded bythestateareputforward bythe variousliterary organizations and political lobbies. TheannualRotary Literary Prize,established in 2008 and fundedbythevariousRotary clubsofHungary, differs inthat the prizewinning poetor prosewriter is chosenfromthesuggestions of anindependent andsecret jury. Thisyear,thenow-prestigious RotaryPrizewas awardedto the forty-six-year-old LászlóSzilasi, professor ofphilology attheUniversity ofSzeged,for hisfirst novel, Szentek hárfája (Harpofthesaints). Theflyer claims that this isa "historical novel andanintellectual thriller." Thisisa simplification that nevertheless contains anelement oftruth. Szilasi's novel begins in the 1920switha murder committed in thetownof"Árpádharagos" (a pun on Békéscsaba, the author'sbirthplace )andcontinues bymoving the plot forwardand backwardduringthetwentieth century. Thebook beginswiththemurder oftherich ...