Embers by Sándor Márai Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Embers
Book Review: An unknown gem
Summary: 5 Stars
Perfect, lapidary. I am infrequently taken surprise by a book. This one took my breath away. It is truly a masterful work.Book Review: Beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a wonderful story and it was told brilliantly. I love this book. There is not much I can say that hasn't already been said. Read it and enjoy it. I can't wait to read more books from this author.Book Review: Beautifully put together; a bit heavy on the monologue
Summary: 4 Stars
This book was recommended to me by a veteran...bookseller. When I'm not looking for something in particular, I rely on him for recommendations, and he never fails. His tastes run more to the foreign than mine, but I am (as ever) glad I took his advice on this one.This book is the monologue of an old man, living in well-ordered isolation in the family country manor. He is full of bitterness, shown in the almost angry way he orders things in his life and in his mind -- everything in its place, no deviation, remembering what chair was where and what table decorations were used several decades ago on a certain night.
From the beginning, when he receives a letter from his old friend telling him he's in town, he's also bent on his "revenge," which unfortunately mostly turns out, apparently, to be trying to talk his opponent to death.
Another quirk: The narrator gloats in the fact that this old friend is subject to his control in every small detail. If the narrator wants to go out onto the balcony, by God, they're going out onto the balcony, and his friend had better submit. What a bizzare way of thinking.
Despite the heaviness of the monologue and a bit of melodrama in the woods, every sentence is elegantly written. The scene with the most potential, and which I would have liked to have seen developed much further, was a flashback to the narrator's youth. He had taken ill, apparently because when he arrived at his grandmother's castle in France he found everything so unnatural to his senses, and the only person able to revive him was his nanny, who travels without rest or food for four days to reach him.
This nanny is still with him when he is an old man, and I was eager for more about her. The author built her up to be a major figure in the narrator's life, then relegated her to a simple servant's role in those parts which take place in the present.
One of the most outstanding things about this book was the exquisite typesetting and layout. Knopf did a magnificent job with the inside of this book, from the paper selection (a nice heavy cream) to the font. It was a satisfaction just to turn the pages.
Book Review: Embers
Summary: 4 Stars
Sándori Márai's Embers is an enchanting novel about friendship, love, betrayal, and consequence. It takes place in a castle deep within the Carpathian Mountains, where loneliness often takes center stage. The old aristocrat who lives there rarely leaves his room and keeps most of his castle closed off, and most of his memories as well. When he receives a letter from a friend who he has not seen in forty-one years, he must prepare to welcome his guest and face those memories which he would like to remain forgotten. The two men argue, often in silence, over the past. Accusations are made and denied about a mysterious meeting that had occurred in the same room, forty-one years before. Now is the time to reconcile.Embers holds the attention of its readers right from the start. It a masterpiece full of intrigue and suspense. Originally published in Budapest in 1942, it has become an international sensation and will continue to capture the minds of modern readers for years to come.
Book Review: Evocative story from Central Europe
Summary: 4 Stars
Interesting story, beautifully written and if not for having to go to work I would have read it straight through since it is a rather short book. Some of the characters could have been better developed and their behavior further explained but I liked it best because of the way it brings back a time and place. Although written in 1942 most of the important events in the story take place at the turn of the century and the flashbacks brilliantly recreate the atmosphere of that period. Well worth reading by everyone interested in Central European affairs (pun intended!)