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Journey by Moonlight

By Antal Szerb
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Journey by Moonlight tells the turbulent story of Mihály, a businessman torn between middle-class respectability and a sensational bohemian past. On honeymoon in Italy with his new wife Erzsi, Mihály finds his memories of youthful wanderlust rekindled amidst the enigmatic back-alleys of Venice. When the couple becomes separated, Mihály embarks on a chaotic and bizarre journey culminating in Rome, where he confronts the clash between his past desires and looming adulthood. Antal Szerb’s intoxicating and satirical narrative explores themes of marriage, identity, and the ache of youth.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$5000

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This novel will appeal to readers who enjoy classic European literature, psychologically nuanced characters, and narratives that blend wit with deep emotional insight. It suits those fascinated by the tensions between societal expectations and personal freedom, and fans of literary fiction exploring themes of identity and transformation.

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An early-twentieth-century classic - the turbulent story of a businessman torn between middle-class respectability and sensational bohemia.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A major modern classic: the turbulent story of a businessman torn between middle-class respectability and sensational bohemia.

Antal Szerb is one of the great European writers - Ali Smith

A novel to love as well as admire, always playful and ironical, full of brilliant descriptions, bon mots and absurd situations - The Guardian

Mihály and Erzsi are on honeymoon in Italy. Mihály has recently joined the respectable family firm in Budapest, but as his gaze passes over the mysterious back-alleys of Venice, memories of his bohemian past reawaken his old desire to wander.

When bride and groom become separated at a provincial train station, Mihály embarks on a chaotic and bizarre journey that leads him finally to Rome, where he must reckon with both his past and his future. In this intoxicating and satirical masterpiece, Szerb takes us deep into the conflicting desires of marriage and shows how adulthood can reverberate endlessly with the ache of youth.

Part of the Pushkin Press Classics series: timeless storytelling by icons of literature, hand-picked from around the globe.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Critics praise Journey by Moonlight for its subtlety, humour, and generosity, with Ali Smith calling Szerb "one of the great European writers." The novel is described as playful, ironical, full of brilliant descriptions and absurd situations, and utterly in love with life. Nicholas Lezard finds it "divine," with a profound soulfulness, while Paul Bailey commends the translation for bringing this twentieth-century classic to life. George Szirtes calls it "a burning book, a major book."

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781805330240

Publisher: Pushkin Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 August 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Pushkin Press Classics

Contributors:

  • Translated by Len Rix

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 300g

Pages: 304

Collections

Antal Szerb Classic Fiction Classic General Fiction Fiction Fiction in Translation General Fiction Literary Fiction

About the Author

Antal Szerb was born in Budapest in 1901. Though of Jewish descent, he was baptised at an early age and remained a lifelong Catholic. He rapidly established himself as a formidable scholar, through studies of Ibsen and Blake and histories of English, Hungarian and world literature. He was a prolific essayist and reviewer, ranging across all the major European languages. Debarred by successive Jewish laws from working in a university, he was subjected to increasing persecution, and finally murdered in a forced labour camp in 1945. Pushkin Press publishes his novels The Pendragon Legend, Oliver VII and his masterpiece Journey by Moonlight, as well as the historical study The Queen's Necklace and Love in a Bottle and Other Stories.

Translated by Len Rix

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