Little-known Hungarian author
Last call for Sándor Márai‘s taut and mesmerizing Embers, published in 1942. The novel opens in a secluded Hungarian castle, where an old general awaits a reunion with a friend. It is 1940, and he has not appeared in public for decades. The long-estranged companions talk all night – or rather, the general talks, as the evasive visitor listens to the general discuss love, intimacy, honor, betrayal, and a beautiful, long-dead wife. “We are our secrets,” he says.
The autumn “Another Look” event at Stanford will discuss Márai’s superb novel. The discussion will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 18, at the Bechtel Conference Center.
Haven’t got the book? There’s still time: go to Stanford Bookstore on the Stanford campus, Kepler’s in Menlo Park, or Bell’s Books in Palo Alto. It’s a quick read, as are all the Another Look books.
The novel is set against the backdrop of the disintegrated Austro-Hungarian empire, and shares the melancholy wisdom of its narrator: “We not only act, talk, think, dream, we also hold our silence about something. All our lives we are silent about who we are, which only we know, and about which we can speak to no one. Yet we know that who we are and what we cannot speak about constitutes the ‘truth.’ We are that about which we hold our silence.”
Acclaimed author Robert Pogue Harrison will moderate the discussion. The Stanford professor who is Another Look’s director writes regularly for The New York Review of Books and hosts the popular talk show, Entitled Opinions. He will be joined by renowned author and National Medal of Arts winner Tobias Wolff, professor emeritus of English at Stanford, and Jane Shaw, Stanford’s Dean for Religious Life at Stanford. Wolff is founding director of Another Look, and of course many of you will remember Jane Shaw from our discussion of J.L. Carr‘s A Month in the Country.
For Another Look newcomers, a map for the Bechtel Conference Center is here. The nearby Knight parking structure, underneath the nearby Graduate School of Business, has plenty of room for free parking (see here for a map). In addition, parking is available on Serra Street and in front of Encina Hall itself.
The Another Look book club takes on books that have been forgotten, neglected, or simply haven’t received the attention we think they merit. Again, all books are short, so they can be read in a few sittings.
All our events are free and open to the public – and please bring your friends! Come early for best seating.
Tags: Jane Shaw, Robert Pogue Harrison, Sándor Márai, Tobias Wolff