'Tell me,' he asked, with some embarassment, as we strolled along: 'you're a bloody German, aren't you?''Oh, no. I'm Hungarian.''Hungarian?''Hungarian.''What's that? Is that a country? Or you are just having me on?'Not at all. On my word of honour, it is a country.''And where do you Hungarians live?''In Hungary. Between Austria, Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia'.'Come off it. Those places were made up by Shakespeare.'And he roared with laughter. (from The Pendragon Legend, page 31) I lived with Hungarians. I worked with Hungarians. I drank with Hungarians (and no less than Hungarian homemade palinka!). Boy, I even went punting with Hungarians. And yet, all that I recall from the fascinating Hungarian language is two words: hupikék törpikék.Which sounds just lovely when you hear it and it's an excellent icebreaker speaking with your average beautiful Miss Polyglot, but, in fact, means 'Smurfs'. Now you know it: go and conquer parties!How did I come across Antal Szerb? No idea. But what I know is that 'The Pendragon Legend' turned out to be a serendipity of a book. I was looking for a decent gothic novel in the wake of Poe and Machen and, this book - to some extent - is a gothic novel, but that's not all. There is much more here and Szerb managed to mix plenty of sweet and sour ingredients with an excellent final result. Now, how can I describe this?There is this certain Young Frankensteinesque mood in 'The Pendragon Legend', so much that I expected Frau Blücher to pop up, but dismissing this novel as a parody would be unjust. There is a quintessentially British sense of humour bringing P.G. Wodehouse and the early Evelyn Waugh in mind, but nonetheless Szerb pokes fun at Englishmen, Scots, Welshmen and Irishmen from the continental point of viewof Janos Batki, 'Doctor of Philosophy specialised in useless information'.Batki is a Hungarian academic in London toying with his rather obcure research in 'English mystics of the Seventeenth century'. Having no impelling economic problems, he spends a good deal of his time in the Reading Room of the British Museum, under the very same dome that plays such an important role in 'New Grub Street' by George Gissing and 'The British Museum is Falling Down' by David Lodge.Not so here. Batky will leave London and his vague studies at the British Museum behind in the pursuit of intellectual curiosity. An invitation from the distinguished Earl of Pendragon (a man 'with a remarkably handsome head' but charged of being 'mad has a hatter') will take the Hungarian Phd to Wales where a very funny and very creepy serie of events will happen. A scholar of Blake and Ibsen, Antal Szerb spent only one year of his life in the UK. And yet, in such a short time he was not only able to complete a once acclaimed World History of Literature, but also to grasp a lot about Britons and their idiosyncrasies. The Hungarian author was clearly fascinated by Britons and I bet he had great fun while writing 'The Pendragon Legend' which was his first novel.You can get that Szerb was witty and well-read as well as a man who loved to court women and being playfully seduced by a pretty face. Not your standard academic bookworm, then. Quite surprisingly to Janos Batki - Szerb alter ego here - courtship is not an intellectual pleasure, but actually quite the opposite as he firmly believes that beautiful women are not meant to be clever. Worse: beautiful women might be imprisoned to make the world a better place. As you can see, this is a novel where the main character does have some interesting opinions. But don't take Antal Szerb wrong, please. He was not a misogynist as the irresistible character of the rubenesque Lene Kretzsch - a modern and sexually liberated intellectual - can prove in this novel. Despite of its name 'The Pendragon Legend' has nothing of Arthurian. This is an entertaining romp with some spooky moments, mysticism, cheeky saxophone interludes (if you know what I mean), brilliant dialogues and many a good and sharp observation. Much credit to Pushkin Press and the excellent translation by Len Rix for making this book available to an English reading audience.As a self proclaimed bookworm I couldn't help but finding 'The Pendragon Legend' extremely engaging and a pleasure to read. True, the finale sort of disappointed my expectations, but what came before was brilliant enough. All things considered, it's high time I pay my first visit to Budapest. 'A Martian Guide to Budapest' written by Antal Szerb in the 1930s might be of use. (if you tell me where I can buy that).
Inhalt:János Bátky aus Budapest ist Philosoph und hat ein Faible für die Mystiker des 17. Jahrhunderts. Als er eines Abends dem Earl of Gwynned vorgestellt wird, verändert sich János ruhiges Leben auf einen Schlag. Der Earl lädt ihn auf sein Schloss ein, um dort in der Bibliothek zu studieren. Da kann der junge Wissenschaftler natürlich nicht nein sagen und zusammen mit Maloney und dem jungen Osborne Pendragon reist er nach Wales. Doch dort geschehen merkwürdige Dinge. Jemand trachtet dem Earl nach dem Leben. Tote stehen wieder auf. Ein Junge wird entführt und was macht der Earl für seltsame Versuche?Meine Meinung:Ich habe schon einige Ungarn gelesen, teilweise auch auf Ungarisch, und deshalb ordnete ich Antal Szerb automatisch in derselben Ecke ein. Immer ein wenig traurig, etwas melancholisch und wahnsinnig stolz auf ihr Land, ihre Sprache, ihre Heimat.Tja, ich habe mich getäuscht.Denn Szerb ist alles anderes als melancholisch oder heimwehgeplagt. Eher das Gegenteil ist der Fall. Antal Szerb schreibt beschwingt, modern und richtig witzig. Bisher habe ich noch keines seiner Bücher im Original gelesen, aber das sollte ich wirklich mal nachholen. Denn das Buch liest sich weg wie nichts.Natürlich kommt ab und an etwas Fachjargon vor, aber das stört nicht. Genausowenig János Abdriften in andere Geschichten, die er dem Leser unbedingt mitteilen will. Denn diese eingefügten historischen Teile sind nie langatmig, sondern spannend, und ziehen auch das Buch nicht unnötig in die Länge. Szerb platziert jeden Abschnitt so präzise, dass es einfach passt.Die Geschichte um die Pendragon-Legende ist teilweise Krimi, teilweise magischer Realismus, teilweise historischer Roman - von allem ist etwas dabei. Man kann als Leser wunderbar miträtseln und einige Dinge waren mir klar, bevor der studierte János überhaupt darauf kam. So hat das Lesen richtig viel Spass gemacht.János war mir von anfang an sympathisch und ich schloss ihn sofort ins Herz, teilweise konnte ich mich sehr gut mit ihm identifizieren. Auch das Trio um János, Osborne und Maloney war herrlich. Schade, dass dann ein paar Geheimnisse aufgedeckt werden.Trotz der teilweise düsteren Stellen bleibt die Geschichte heiter bis zum Schluss. Ist jemand schon mal in einer walisischen Ruine herumgeirrt? Schon irgendwie gruselig... vor allem, wenn man an das Familienmotto der Pendragons denkt: "Ich glaube an die Auferstehung des Fleisches". Ich gebe es gerne zu: Ein wenig gegruselt habe ich mich schon...Fazit:Ein Buch genau nach meinem Geschmack. "Die Pendragon-Legende" ist eine gelungene Mischung aus Krimi, Fantastik und historischen Details und das, ohne grosse Töne zu Werfen. Die Figuren sind lebensecht und abwechslungsreich und einige davon hätte ich gerne selbst als Freunde gehabt.Eine rasante und spannende Geschichte, die Lust auf mehr macht!
Do You like book The Pendragon Legend (2006)?
Oh my. I read Journey by Moonlight by Szerb long ago and I remember how thrilled I was to discover such a hidden gem of Hungarian literature. God knows why I thought that time it was only the book and not the author, and I didn't give more chance to his books. Reading the Pendragon Legend this time I was totally enchanted again. It was light, witty, incredibly entertaining, but all over enwreathed with the overwhelming intelligence of the author. The Pendragon Legend is a fine blend of gothic and romantic genres spiced up with some dark mystery - or is the reader being played with and it's just a parody of all this? Give it a go and decide for yourself. If possible in Hungarian, because I'm not sure it works in English as well. However, if Szerb manages to transcend time, maybe it's a book that happens to transcend the language as well.
—Noémi Balási
The Pendragon Legend' is like a cross between The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Man Who Was Thursday, with a touch of John Buchan thrown in. Essentially it's a Gothic adventure, but also a bit of a parody like Northanger Abbey. It's about a young Hungarian doctor (a thinly-veiled version of the author I think) who goes to stay with the mysterious Earl of Gwynedd at his castle in Wales. The Earl is part of the Pendragon family, who are linked to the Rosacrucians. It is rumoured that the Earl is conducting clandestine experiments to try to discover what killed one of his ancestors - the outcome of which will determine whether or not he is entitled to a huge inheritance - but there are people out to kill him, plus some pretty spooky goings on at the castle, which the doctor becomes involves in trying to unravel.I started off quite enjoying it, but by the end thought it was getting a bit silly. The protagonist is at times faintly annoying, and at other times very stupid, but the other characters are likeable if typical - the shy, effeminate, aristocrat's son, the domineering modern woman, the femme fatale, the gregarious, booze-loving Irishman etc. The plot twists constantly and keeps you guessing to the end. Overall mixed feelings, hence 3 out of 5.
—Lori
I don't think I had laugh out loud moments while reading something in a long time. The style and humor are slightly P.G Wodehouse-ian but the main character is unlike anything I have ever come across before. In his observation of the the ironies of the world he is acutely aware of his own failings that makes him both likable and awe-inspiring. I picked this up at a bookstore in Budapest, wanting to read a novel about Hungarian people - this is anything but! I have however a new favorite author to add to my list and am looking forward to his other darker works.
—Sudha Bellamkonda
