1945 and Other Stories

Author(s): Gábor T. Szántó
Language: English
Year of publication: 2024
Page Range: 272
ISBN: 978-3-949607-39-4
E-ISBN-13: 978-3-949607-38-7

Subject(s): Literary fiction

Summary/Abstract:

What happened in Europe after World War II to the returning Jews, the displaced Swabians, and the Hungarians in Felvidék (now Slovakia) who were victims of population exchange? The great social dramas of 20th-century Central Europe are as much the subject of this disturbing volume as individual destinies: how does desire stretch the boundaries of everyday norms; how does it destroy lives or forces them to leave their country? What happens to a man who wishes to live as a woman but his chosen vocation requires him to observe religious norms? What happens to a teenager whose first love, his teacher, has her eye on his best friend and plays a vicious game with the boys? What will be the fate of the deaf and mute son of a peasant woman who, in his final exclusion from human society, seeks solace with animals?
Ferenc Török directed a feature film based on the title story of Gábor T. Szántó’s book; it received 20 festival awards including recognition at the Berlin International Film Festival and has been distributed in 40 countries.

Translated by
Walter Burgess and Marietta Morry
TLR Bass
Ivan Sanders