The Notebook Trilogy

The Notebook Trilogy by Kristof Agota and Ágota Kristóf is a profound exploration of the aftereffects of trauma, particularly on children, and the nature of storytelling. The series consists of three novels: The Notebook, The Proof, and The Third Lie, tracing the turbulent journey of twin brothers Claus and Lucas through a tumultuous Europe.

Their story begins amidst the turmoil of wartime, as they are left with their grandmother, known as the 'Witch', in a village within an occupied country. Despite their angelic appearances, the twins are implacable and dangerously ethical, driven by an intrinsic morality defined by absolute need. The narrative spans from the Second World War, through the years of communism, and into a fractured modern Europe.

In a compelling allegory of post-war Europe, the twins become separated and find themselves isolated in different countries, yearning to reconnect. As perspectives shift and memories diverge, the instability of identity is poignantly portrayed in Kristof's spare, direct prose style.

Resonating with the traditions of J.M. Coetzee and Herta Muller, The Notebook Trilogy captures truth and lies through a breathtaking artistic lens that is both shocking and unforgettable.

Praise for The Notebook Trilogy:

"An almost lyrical intensity... A fierce and disturbing novel." - New York Times

"A haunting, harrowing tale that lingers in the imagination long after you've turned the last page." - Washington Post

"I found it profoundly disturbing, incredibly well-written, and extraordinarily brave. And the fact that it was written by a woman—it has a startling brutality and ferocity about the style that I find very inspiring." - Eimear McBride, The Believer

"At the heart of this acrid trilogy, in all its studied understatement and lack of portentousness, we can feel the author's slow-burning rage at the wholesale erasure of certainty and continuity in the world of her childhood and adolescence. At the same time, we sense Kristof saturninely enjoying this annihilation for its imaginative potential. She will reassemble a shattered world on her own rigorous terms, and watch us wince and shudder in the process." - Times Literary Supplement

"In prose stripped to a bare yet powerful structure, this intense parable reveals the triumph of literature in a politically repressive state." - Booklist

"The Notebook is a transfixing house of horrors." - New Statesman

"A dark study of the human psyche." - New York Times Book Review

"Closing this chillingly unsentimental novel, I felt that it had contrived to say absolutely everything about the Second World War and its aftermath in Central Europe." - Sunday Times