Ever experienced that someone was painting on the side of the road, near the water, or opposite a monumental building?
The colors on his palette are combined again with a brush with all kinds of violent gestures and skill and a new color appears.
There is a faint pencil sketch visible on the canvas, but it takes a long time before it becomes clear what is actually being put on the canvas.
Eventually, if you have enough patience and time you will see the appearance, the portrait or the landscape.

Marai is such a painter with words. Step by step, people appear on the scene, characters gain color, events come to life. It will not appeal to everyone that such a lengthy monologue takes place with only the noise of the nurse, servants and a sudden gust of wind interrupting his story.
And to be honest, that is something that prevents me from giving 5 stars. For me personally, it is the second novel by Marai that I have read, and in that other novel it is also mainly a one-sided monologue.
Yet, his play with words, like a painter with his palette, creates a story, a work of art. ( )

The supposed masterpiece was a great disappointment. It's a very pale, boring near copy of the great Henry James true masterpiece, Wings of the Dove. ( )

Steeped in pre-war ambiance (it was first published in 1942), the story of a three-person relationship through the eyes of one of them. Well-told, interesting story, but for the fact that I found the protagonist insufferable. Enjoyed the writing, but the translation (from the German, not the original Hungarian) hit clunkers more often than I would have expected. ( )

El último encuentro
Sándor Márai
Publicado: 1942 | 143 páginas
Novela Drama

La búsqueda de la verdad como fuerza liberadora, como soporte ético imprescindible para sobrellevar el transcurso de una vida, está en el centro de esta novela magistral, que tras permanecer en el olvido durante más de cincuenta años fue rescatada por la prestigiosa editorial italiana Adelphi y se colocó rápidamente en el primer puesto de las listas de libros más vendidos de Italia. La tremenda exactitud de su prosa, apenas atemperada con un barniz de refinada melancolía, unida a la vigencia de sus propuestas morales, sitúa a Sándor Márai entre los grandes escritores europeos de este siglo. Un pequeño castillo de caza en Hungría, al pie de los Cárpatos, donde alguna vez se celebraron elegantes veladas y cuyos salones decorados al estilo francés se llenaban de la música de Chopin, ha cambiado radicalmente de aspecto. El esplendor de antaño ya no existe, todo anuncia el final de una época. Dos hombres mayores, que de jóvenes habían sido amigos inseparables, se citan a cenar tras cuarenta años sin verse. Uno ha pasado mucho tiempo en Extremo Oriente, el otro, en cambio, ha permanecido en su propiedad. Pero ambos han vivido a la espera de este momento, pues entre ellos se interpone un secreto de una fuerza singular. Todo converge en un duelo sin armas, aunque tal vez mucho más cruel, cuyo punto en común es el recuerdo imborrable de una mujer. La tensión aumenta, línea tras línea, hasta que se hace casi insoportable, pero la prosa continúa, implacable, precisa, fiel reflejo del empeño de los protagonistas por hurgar hasta en lo más recóndito de sus almas, allí donde se encuentran esas verdades cuyo descubrimiento provoca, al mismo tiempo, un insoslayable dolor y un incontenible impulso vital.

Set in Hungary in 1940, seventy-five-year-old Henrik is awaiting the arrival of his friend, Konrad, whom he has not seen in forty-one years. Henrik is a general who lives in palatial estate. Konrad is of a lower social position. Henrik and Konrad met at military school in Vienna when they were children. As the story unfolds, it becomes evident that a significant event occurred in the past, which created a rift between these men. Henrik intends to discover the truth of what happened.

“Silently, wobbling a little like shadows on a wall, they walk in this ghostly glow from the dining room through one cold salon after another until they reach a room whose only furniture consists of a grand piano with its lid raised and three chairs around a great-bellied stove… The servant sets the coffee on a small table along with cigars and brandy, then places the silver candelabra with the fat church candles on the ledge of the stove. They each light a cigar and sit in silence warming themselves. The heat from the logs in the stove pours out in steady waves and the candlelight dances above their heads... They are alone.”

This book is written in close perspective focused on Henrik and his interactions with a small circle of intimates. The tone is somber. It is filled with psychological tension. It evokes an old-world nostalgia. What starts as a dialogue gradually becomes a monologue, as Henrik presents his deductions and suspicions about what happened on that fateful day long ago. It feels like the third chair is occupied by the reader, listening to this private conversation.

After finishing, I began contemplating the implications of what I had just read. The more I thought about it, the more I appreciated it. This book is a beautifully rendered examination of friendship, betrayal, and what matters in the end. It is a fine piece of writing.
( )

"Atrás das persianas fechadas, no jardim seco, árido e tostado ardia o verão com a sua última raiva, como um incendiário que no seu furor delirante, abrasa o campo antes de ir pelo mundo fora."

Uma história de amor, amizade, traição e intrica, envolta numa prosa linda.

Recomendo aos apreciadores dos clássicos de literatura. ( )

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/embers-by-sandor-marai/

It's quite a short book, but very dense. The central character has lost everything that he held dear; his wife died long ago, and he lost her long before that anyway; his oldest friend comes to visit, and they thrash out the details of a painful past after a long separation. It's very end-of-empire ish. I though it was well enough observed, but I don't especially sympathise with imperial nostalgia, so not hugely inclined to seek out Márai's other work. ( )

Se lleva dos y una ⭐ porque ponele que el primer cuarto del libro fue interesante.
Yo sé que esta no es la clase de libro que disfruto y entre en la lectura sabiendo que no me iba a volar la cabeza, aún así, esperaba algo más. Algo que me llamara del libro, que me quedara después de la lectura. Sólo porque no es mi estilo favorito no significa que no pueda apreciarlo o disfrutarlo. Pero no sucedió.
Se me hizo larguísimo, como si fuera cinco veces más largo de lo que realmente es. Una ensalada de palabras y reflexiones repetidas que no terminaba nunca. Ya al final, los últimos capítulos, la vista merodeaba por la página y no podía concentrarme mucho porque cada vez que le prestaba demasiada atención a la página no podía mas que revolear los ojos.
Entiendo que es considerado una obra maestra, que hay gente que ve la iluminación en estas páginas y que seguramente lo relea y encuentre mil reflexiones y detalles que los lleven a ellos mismos a la reflexión y al disfrute. No es mi caso. ( )

This novel held great promise for me. It was set in a part of the world that fascinates me; it purports to explore the "big questions" of friendship, love and courage; it had been praised by readers whose judgment I trust. It started out well, too. At his family castle in the Hungarian forest, Henrik, or "The General" awaits the arrival of Konrad, "The Captain", and reminisces about the past. As 10-year old boys from very different worlds, Henrik and Konrad met at a military academy in Vienna, and became inseparable friends. Yet we learn that something has separated them, and that they are about to meet for the first time in 41 years. The reason is a mystery, and for a time the author tantalizes the reader with that mystery in a very skillful manner. Yet very early on I began to dislike the tone, and marked a passage or two with snarky little comments. This one, for instance, ---And yet, beyond their roles and their lives in society, beyond the women, something else, something more powerful made itself felt. A feeling known only to men. A feeling called friendship. Once the General's guest actually made his appearance, I felt the book very quickly turned from suspenseful novel to self-indulgent screed on the nature of friendship, passion, guilt, truth. Little nuggets of the old story were scattered through the General's repetitive philosophical musings, but I grew very impatient and eventually stopped caring about what really happened all those years ago. As Henrik did all the talking, we never understand why Konrad returned to meet him again. It certainly could not have been to explain or defend himself, as he made no attempt to do either. The General talks at length about seeking revenge, but (and this is a SPOILER, I suppose), the author violates, quite literally, Chekov's rule that if a gun appears in Act 1, it had better go off in Act III. Embers had an excellent first act, but I should have left during the intermission. Review written in Feb. 2009 ( )

Straf.

Twee vrienden door dik en dun, een uitgekiend drama en een auteur met een erg goede pen, dat levert gegarandeerd een goed boek op.

Twee vrienden door dik en dun met totaal verschillende sociale achtergronden en toch een zielsverwantschap, een uitgekiend drama dat slechts langzaam uit de doeken wordt gedaan en een auteur met een erg goede pen een strak verhaaltempo en een spaarzame maar toch niet kale stijl, dat levert gegarandeerd een heel goed boek op.

Waarom Gloed nog beter is en absoluut die vijf sterren verdient?

In plaats van met de neus boven op het drama te zitten en spanningsbogen te creëren vanuit de emoties en de mogelijke gevolgen voor de personages, laat Sandor Marai er eerst een heel leven over gaan.

Twee vrienden ontmoeten elkaar wanneer ze beiden 70-tiggers zijn en elkaar 41 jaar lang niet meer zagen. Terwijl de ene de andere 2 vragen wil stellen, krijg je als lezer een hele historie te horen die de breuk tussen de vrienden uit de doeken doet terwijl de vertellende vriend op zoek is naar de waarheid. Maar wat het boek helemaal bijzonder, waardevol en bloedmooi maakt is dat die waarheid na 41-jaar helemaal niet (of amper) in de feiten zelf ligt.

'Of het moment gaat voorbij en je kunt niets meer doen. Want dat is er ook, het moment, de tijd voert de dingen ook naar eigen goeddunken aan en af, niet alleen wij plaatsen onze handelingen en de verschijnselen in de tijd. Het komt voor dat de tijd een kans brengt en dat die een exacte tijd heeft, en als het moment voorbij is, kun je opeens niets meer doen.'

Omdat er 40 jaar is overgegaan, is het perspectief op de breuk zo verrijkend, zo doorleefd en zo ontdaan van alle melodrama dat het een ongewone moreel hoogstaande lading mee krijgt. De rust en kalmte waarmee het gesprek zich ontvouwd en het totaal ontberen van ego en conflictdrang - de heren hebben toch beiden hun hele leven al achter de rug - leent zich uitstekend tot een uiteenzetting vol levenswijsheid, doordachte beschouwingen en waarachtige conclusies.

'En alles wat mensen "bedriegen" noemen, de treurige en saaie rebellie van lichamen tegen een situatie en een derde persoon, is verschrikkelijk oninteressant aan het eind van het leven, onverschillig, bijna meelijwekkend, als een ongeluk of een misverstand.'

Indrukwekkend.
Ronduit indrukwekkend. ( )

Nulla accade eppure tutto si compie.

Ambientato in un castello in parte non più abitato per scelta, i protagonisti sono 4 personaggi di cui uno è presente solo per evocazione e l'altro si scorge appena ma sembra la colonna portante di tutto il castello.

Una storia lenta, sofferta, ponderata, ricordata, sviscerata. Una resa dei conti tra due vecchi amici che non si vedono più da quarant'anni.

Magistrale scrittura.

( )

A curious book about a man bearing a grudge. The General, living in his large lonely castle of a home, receives a visitor he has not seen in 41 years. Konrad, the visitor, and the General used to be close friends. The two and the General's wife would sit together evenings in this same house, and talk.

The conversation leans on the past. The General asks his guest if he remembers the last time they sat together. He asks what he has been doing in all those years, after disappearing suddenly. Konrad answers simply. As the evening wears on, Konrad comes to realize that the General has a specific aim in mind for this meeting. And he has a reason harking back to a hunting expedition, when everything changed.

The conversation is dominated by the General, while Konrad listens, and when Konrad attempts a comment from time to time the General intrudes again, until the end, when there is an answer of sorts.

It's a tantalizing tale illuminating the suspicions, the questions, the deeply-held beliefs of a man suspended in time. ( )

Read for Equinox #1 / Topic 2

This short novel was sad, haunting, and thought-provoking. The plot is simple: the General has suffered an incredible betrayal and waited his whole life for revenge. The writing is often very beautiful, and there are many thoughts to ponder, especially about the true nature of friendship. I understand why this novel is so acclaimed. Unfortunately for me the ending was so disappointing that I can't rate it any higher; although the fact that the reader is left so deeply frustrated and unsatisfied was probably intentional. After 41 years, putting his entire life on hold and withdrawing form the world, living only to confront his old friend, once Konrad finally comes - the General never lets Konrad speak. He never gets the answer to his most burning question: Did Crisztina know? He never lets Konrad attempt to explain or apologize. So then what was the purpose of having Konrad come at all? This was obviously a very deliberate choice by the author, so I am sure he was trying to say something - but I'm not sure what. ( )

Szenvedély és szenvedés, barátság, hűtlenség, önzés és hiúság, két ember örökre összefonódott sorsa, melyből egyikük sem tudja magát kibontani. Három elvesztegelt élet, önkínzás és megbocsátásra való képtelenség sokkal nagyobb bűn, mint az eredeti árulás. Ez egy igazi kelet-európai regény, amelyben a viszonyok leláncolnak, a szenvedélyek pusztítóak, a gondolatok túl árnyaltak, és az emberek nem képesek megbocsátani és újrakezdeni. ( )

This is a flawlessly written book. Every word was carefully chosen. I loved the way the tale was told. I think I will need to read it a few times to capture all that is being said. What is expected in friendship and loyalty? I am surprised this isn't on every person's shelf who likes book and admires pure artistry. Please find this and read-then do it again. Well done. ( )

Different. Would be a great book for discussion/class. ( )

Nach vielen Jahren wiedergelesen, dieser Roman einer Freundschaft und Liebe, der phantastische Bericht einer einer einzigen Nacht der Wiederbegegnung nach 41 Jahren des Schweigens, ein einziger langer Monolog. Kann Freundschaft über Klüfte bestehen, die arme und reiche Aristokratie trennt, die solche, zu denen Musik, zu denen Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin .. - spricht, die mit der Musik leben, von denen trennt, denen sie nichts sagt, denen diese Bedeutung, wenn sie sie bei den anderen wahrnehmen, gefährlich erscheint da sie sich diesem Geheimnis ausgeschlossen fühlen, kann Freundschaft diese Klüfte überhaupt überbrücken oder schlägt sie um in tödliche Feindschaft? Kann Liebe zwischen Weib und Mann eine solche Kluft des Verstehens, damit die Fremdheit aufheben oder muß sie zum Verrat führen? Aber was nie bestanden hat, was wird dann verraten? (I-18) ( )

This is the story of 2 childhood friends who had not seen each other for 41 years. This book has some eloquent truths: Facts are not truth; and friends can kill each other but death does not end a friendship. The main character, the General, philosophizes for most of the book making this an overlong rambling soliloquy. This would have been much better as a short story. 214 pages 3 stars ( )

Rather like the reading equivalent of a European art film that kinda almost got but then just didn't. Beautiful writing and very evocative but then just kind petered off into philosophical ramblings I'm sure I was meant to get more from.

parte un po' scontato e finisce un filo in affanno, ma il discorso del generale ha una potenza straordinaria

[audiolibro]
( )

Puh. Laut Klappentext "eine literarische Wiederentdeckung ersten Ranges". Kann ich so nicht bestätigen.

Höhepunkt ist sicherlich die Jagd und die Beschreibung des Todes: "[Er steht etwas vor und mit dem Rücken zum Schützen] Ich spürte, wie du dein Gewehr hebst, an die Schulter legst und zielst. Ich spürte, wie du ein Auge zudrückst und wie der Gewehrlauf jetzt langsam abdreht. [...] Ich wußte aber auch, daß ich mich nicht rühren konnte [...] Und so stand ich da und wartete auf den Schuss"

Gar nicht gefällt mir, wie der Autor sich aus allen Fragen stiehlt. Natürlich will ich wissen, was genau damals passiert ist, natürlich suche ich den Dialog. Márai macht es sich hier einfach und lässt den General sagen: "Genau danach frage ich nicht, denn das interessiert mich nicht." Aha. Ab da hab ich das Gefühl: "Hergottnochmal, jetzt redet doch miteinander."

Im weiteren Verlauf scheint es, als hätte der Autor seine gesamte Sammlung an Notizen und Entwürfen verwurstet: Jetzt hab ich das, jetzt pack ich das auch dazu. Inhalt? Egal. Sinn? Egal. Hauptsache es klingt gut: "manchmal glaube ich, dass nur die Toten endgültig antworten können": Bah, geh weg. ( )

Very difficult to rate. The first part is exceptional in its descriptions and characterizations of people and situations many of which you would like to memorize. After this a long monologue of the main character starts and only finishes at the end of the book. Although written well it also contains too many repetitions and humbug like considerations, apart from some extra magnificent ones. The end is a bit of a dissapointment. First part 5 stars, second part 3 stars. ( )

Beautifully written, thought-provoking, a book to read in one sitting. ( )

World literature from Hungarian author and translated by Carol Brown Janeway. This work covers many years from two youg men's school years to their old age and mostly occurs in a night long dialogue by the General to his friend who has returned after 41 year absence. It is a story of passion. And it is a story about personal choice, to run, to stay, to die and the effects these choices have. Prose was good. The translated does a good job, she also translated The Reader which was also well done. This is a book of few pages with deep philosophical ponderings. ( )

After 41 years of mulling over an event that occurred between his best friend, himself, and his wife, the general has invited that best friend to the castle to go over the events of that day and ask him 2 questions.

The chapters that take place in the past are fairly interesting. The longwinded multiple-page paragraphs of the General ruminating are not. Konrad, his best friend, says little. (Was his entire life spent thinking about this one day in the past, or is he as amazed as I am as the reader?)

In the end, the General asks Konrad 2 questions. The first he refuses to answer. The 2nd he answers "yes" too, which isn't really an answer to the long-winded question. The General then offers to unseal his late wife's diary, which he has kept sealed all these years, to see what she thought about that day. Konrad refuses. And thus come the embers. ta-da, no resolution.

I know some people like this sort of ruminating book (it reminds me of [book:Gilead|68210] in this way). I do not like books that consist of old men thinking about their lives and trying to justify their choices. Yawn. ( )