The 82nd Hungarian Book Week fair took place last weekend in Budapest. Thousands attended to browse and purchase books in the 130 bookstands sponsored by publishers.
Among the 375 new titles presented during Book Week, two books were written by Hungarian American Coalition Board Members.
Gyula Várallyay’s Tévúton – Ügynökök az ötvenhatos diakmozgalomban nyugaton (On the Wrong Path – Agents in the 1956 student movement in the West) provides an authoritative investigation of how the student organization MEFESZ (Association of the Hungarian University and College Students) was infiltrated by Hungarian Communists between 1961-67, who eventually destroyed the organization. Gyula Várallyay, who served as this organization’s president (1959-60) had great insight into its formation and operation.
The book (in Hungarian) can be ordered from l’Harmattan Publisher at: http://www.harmattan.hu/konyv_749.html.
László Fülöp’s book, Máramarosszigeti történetek – Egy kisfiú kalandjai vészterhes időkben (Stories from Máramarossziget – The Adventures of a Young Boy in Turbulent Times) tells poignant stories of László’s family’s life during and after World War II in Máramarossziget, now located in Northern Romania. Through the Fülöp family’s stories, this stormy period of Hungarian history is placed in a historical and human context. The book’s beautiful illustrations enrich the interest and appeal of each story.
“Even as he is occupied with his childish pranks, the hero of the novel, a ten-year old boy living in Máramarossziget, must increasingly realize that in 1944-45 the history “surrounding him” controls his life in many ways. The author, now living in the United States, describes with genuine humor the childhood of someone who would mature into an extraordinary man, providing us a highly readable account that elicits both smiles and tears.”
The book (in Hungarian) can be ordered from the website of the publisher, Fekete Sas Kiadó, Hungary at http://www.feketesas.hu/shop2/Fulop-G-Laszlo-Maramarosszigeti-tortenetek.html.
June 10, 2011 | Washington, DC
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